Sweet Child O' Mine
by Swords N' Daisies
Summary: It turns out one of Dean's old one night stands was more than a one night stand, resulting in an interesting discovery seventeen years later. Hurt/Comfort and Angst in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

"Aria!" Chase shouted as she tossed her sister the pistol. Aria held out the gun and fired into the face of the shapeshifter on top of her, flinching as the thing's blood splattered across her freckled nose and cheeks.

"That _was_ silver, right?" She asked, wiping blood from her grimey face.

"Well, I did kill a werewolf with that gun last week, so..." Chase responded.

"Oh, shut up," Aria muttered as she stood up, brushing the gunk off of her plaid flannel button-down. Chase grabbed the pistol out of Aria's hand, then reached over and ruffled her hair. Aria batted her hand away and started for their 1970 Dodge Charger.

Chase tapped her hands on the steering wheel as the worn out radio blared an old and battered _Guns N' Roses _tape. The bumping of the road triggered memories in the 16 year old's mind.

_Chase drove down a dark highway in the middle of Kansas and slowed as she saw the silhouette of a lanky female figure walking on the side of the road. Her arm was held out and her thumb was sticking up at an abrupt angle. Chase pulled over next to the girl. She leaned over the passenger seat and cranked down the window._

"_Need a ride?" She asked the girl, who looked her over suspiciously and then nodded in response. She pulled open the door and took off her olive green backpack, which she tossed on the floor in front of the seat. Chase watched her silently, noting that the girl was young. Like, really young. She looked about 13. _

"_I have a knife, so don't get any ideas," she said as she sat down on the black leather seat. Chase chuckled and held out her hand._

"_Chase," she said as they shook._

"_Aria," the girl muttered before opening her backpack and rummaging through it. She picked up what looked like a scratched-up saltshaker from a diner and then threw it back into the dirty bag. Eventually she pulled out a small book and opened it, then started to read._

"_Got a house?" Chase asked her_

"_No. Just take me to the nearest roadhouse." Chase glanced at Aria again and noticed the anti possession pendants around her neck._

"_So you're a hunter?" She asked quietly._

"_What do you think?" The girl asked back. Her sarcastic tone made Chase grin as she reached forward to turn up the radio. AC/DC blared out of the speakers, and Aria's mouth twitched into a smile for a second. She went back to frowning almost instantly, but Chase had seen the break in her icy exterior. _

Chase looked over the girl in the passenger seat. She was still lanky, but had filled out a bit in the last year. Her dark hair swept over her shoulder and shadowed part of her face, but Chase could still tell she was sleeping. Chase shrugged off her worn leather jacket and laid it over the girl, smiling as Aria shifted and pulled the familiar garment closer.

They drove for about two more hours before they reached the dingy hotel. Chase gently reached over and tapped Aria, who jolted abruptly awake with a swing of her fists. Chase knew to expect it though, and leaned back just in time to watch Aria's hand fly past the space where her head just was.

"Easy Tiger." Chase snorted.

"Oh shut up. You do it, too." Aria, stormed, blushing slightly. Chase laughed again.

"Touche, little sister, touche."

They walked into the small room and each settled on a bed. Aria glanced at the clock. 12:27AM. She slipped off her jeans and replaced them with a pair of old flannel pajama bottoms. Then she climbed into bed. She lay there for a moment, groaned, and flipped onto her back, reaching for her book. Chase half-smiled and went to change into her faded, extra baggy, not very flattering, speckled with blood stains, kind of grey but not really sweat pants.

Then she opened her laptop and began searching for another hunt. Aria crashed around 2:00, the book resting open on her chest. Chase got up and silently crossed the room, gently slipping the book out of Aria's hands and setting it on the nightstand. She then pulled the blankets over the younger girl's shoulders and brushed her hair out of her face. Aria unconsciously leaned into the touch and Chase looked down on her with a half-smile again resting on her face.

When Chase finally found a hunt that wasn't already taken by some other hunter, it was 4:00 in the morning. She checked the salt lines and locks on the windows and door and then checked on Aria. Only when she was sure they were safe did she let herself sleep.

"Vampires." Chase said, her mouth full of french toast. Aria looked up from her omelette and smirked, then proceeded to grab the shaker of salt at the end of the table and dust the top of her omelette with the crystal grains.

"So, what's the big deal? Vamps are easy," she said before taking a rather large swig of her coffee.

"Yeah, vamps are easy, but not when there's a whole nest of them." Chase replied, pulling a flask from her jacket pocket and trickling a bit of honey colored liquid into her black coffee.

"Really, Chase?" Aria whispered angrily.

"Nothing like a bit of whiskey in the morning, sweetie." Chase quipped before continuing.

"Anyways, back to the hunt. I called Leroy Pierce, but he's busy with another hunt. He says he's sending us some help. They'll meet us a few miles away from where the nest is."

"So we're hunting with a random hunter that we've never met." Aria frowned. The waitress collected the bill and Chase gulped down the rest of her coffee before standing and looking back at Aria.

"Oh no, darling, not a random hunter. Do you think I'm crazy? There are two of them, not one."


	2. Chapter 2

They had stopped at a park a six miles from the barn where the nest was supposed to be. Chase leaned up against the car, tracing patterns on the deep red metallic paint with her pinky. Aria sat in the passenger seat with the door open and looked over the research, nervously tapping her foot.

"I wonder what they'll be like." Aria mused quietly.

"They probably won't like you." Chase joked.

They both expected a beat up truck from the 90's and two old, battle worn guys. What they didn't expect was the sleek black Impala that pulled up next to them, or the two young guys who stepped out.

The driver was tall, at least 6'1, and blonde. The passenger was even taller, with shoulder-length auburn hair. They weren't old. The blonde one looked around 35-36, and the other one looked like he was around 30. And they certainly weren't look bad looking.

Aria studied them both, noting the holster on the taller one's belt. The fair-haired one had something familiar about him, something she knew well, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

The blonde one walked over to Chase, then looked over toward the taller one and nodded toward Aria, who shifted her position and kept looking over the research.

"Dean," the blonde said and held out a hand.

"Chase," Chase replied as she reached out and shook Dean's hand firmly. She looked him in the eyes, just like her mom taught her. She wasn't sure, but she though Dean's eyes widened a bit, as though he recognized her. Then she realized taller one had started to walk toward Aria, and Chase responded by grabbing her gun out of it's holster on her belt. Dean took note of this and immediately responded.

"That's my brother Sam, and he's not going to hurt your, uh," Dean looked over at Aria, who was talking to Sam. "Sister," Dean decided on. Chase lowered her gun and started toward her trunk. Dean relaxed and began to study her car, which made her slightly uncomfortable. She thought she saw his eyes spark a bit in recognition, like he had seen the Charger before, but he quickly covered it and went back to inspecting the car.

"So," Chase started, breaking the silence."You're a friend of Leroy's?"

"Our dad knew him," Dean said as he followed her to see what kind of gear she had in the shining red trunk. Aria and Sam got up and walked over to join them. Chase opened the trunk and grabbed two machetes out of the array of weapons.

"How old are you two, anyway?" Dean asked as he looked over their lethal equipment.

"I'm 16 and Aria's 14," Chase said. Aria grabbed 5 or 6 syringes of dead man's blood and slammed the trunk door shut.

"We shouldn't take two cars," Aria said. "It's either the Impala or the Charger." Dean straightened up a little when she said this.

"We're taking mine," Dean announced. Chase glared at him. Anyone else would have withered under her gaze. Aria chuckled and instinctively backed away, knowing how Chase was about her car.

"Mine is faster." Chase said.

"I doubt it." Dean fired back.

"I've got a 707 horsepower engine in there." Chase's voice held barely covered pride.

Dean paused, his face betraying the fact that he was impressed. Then his eyes glinted.

"How many bodies can you fit in your trunk?" He asked. Chase's shoulders slumped.

"Two." She said dejectedly.

"Mine fits three. Plus gear. We're taking the Impala."

Aria was ecstatic. Sam could talk books with her. Even though Chase read almost as much as she did, she didn't have any interest in talking about things. But Sam, Sam could talk for hours on end about how certain characters were sculpted certain ways, how plots were twisted, how events were manipulated. Aria loved it. Sam was like... Like the cool uncle she never had. And Dean? Dean reminded her of Chase. A lot. They even looked alike, with the smile and the same puffed out bottom lip. It was weird.

Aria glanced over at Chase, who was slumped against the black bench seat in the back of the Impala. She still looked a bit pissed about the car thing, but most of her concentration was focused on cleaning her nails with her pocket knife.

Dean drove with a sort of easiness, like the Impala was an extension of his body, like he knew every inch of the car like the back of his hand. Aria had never seen anyone drive that way, except for maybe Chase, and Aria knew as a fact that Chase actually did know every inch of her car.

The similarity between the two still bothered her, but she put it to rest and dove back into her book.

When they reached the barn, they silently unloaded the trunk, each person taking a machete and a vial of dead man's blood. They snuck up to the old wooden building, crouching by the door Sam looked inside the window, studying the contents of the barn. Then he shook his head, signaling that he saw nothing. Dean nudged him aside and looked inside the window. When he realized there really was nothing, he pulled his head back, his face contorted with confusion.

"Chase! Sam! Flank me! Aria, behind them!" He whispered loudly. Chase stood and moved behind him, her footsteps soft. She sensed Sam on her right and Aria behind her. Dean signaled that he was going to open the door. Chase nodded and raised her machete, wishing she had a gun.

He shoved the doors, which squealed as they swung inward. It was silent for a moment, and then something moved in the dark and all hell broke loose.

The vampires swarmed out of the attic, out of the cellar, and seemingly out of the walls. The three hunters sprang into action, hacking off head after head. Aria joined them, taking off a big vamp's snarling head with one strong stroke.

They kicked ass. Vamp after vamp fell to the ground in two pieces. In a gory, bloody, messy way, it was beautiful.

Eventually, the hunt was over and the bodies of the vampires were wreathed in flames, the old barn quickly catching fire. The four hunters hightailed it out of there, not wanting to get caught by the fire department.

Dean reached forward and turned up his radio. Ramble On by Zeppelin poured out of the speakers, and Chase lit up.

"Huh. This is my favorite song." She grinned.

"Mine too." Dean said. He looked into the rear view and made eye contact win her. His eyebrows bunched and he swallowed. Those eyes. Those blue eyes... He had seen them before. And the Charger too. He knew them from a girl he had loved a long time ago, someone he had never forgotten. One of the only ones he really hadn't wanted to leave…

"So do you guys want to do breakfast tomorrow and then split?" Sam pulled Dean's attention from Chase.

"Yeah, sure. What time?" Aria asked.

"Nine." Dean and Chase said simultaneously. Sam laughed and nodded. Aria smirked, still slightly bothered by the similarity of the two, but content enough to let it go for the time being.

They split up at the park, each of them driving off to a separate motel.

"Even in a miniscule town like this, they somehow manage to keep two of these crap holes in business." Chase grated, making Aria laugh.

"They've got to have a place for all the crap hole people, _darling_." She mocked. Chase flicked her head and continued unloading their duffels.

The room was far from the worst they had ever stayed in, and even though there were some suspicious stains on the carpet and the "hot" water would make an ice river feel warm, the bedding was clean and the mattresses were relatively soft.

The freshly showered girls changed into their pajamas and made their way to their beds. Aria produced yet another book and Chase began cleaning their guns, the clicking of metal calming both of them.

They both knew that their lives were screwed up, that kids weren't supposed to fight vampires, or clean weapons, or sleep with a weapon under their head. It was wrong.

But then again, they didn't really have another option.

Chase finished cleaning and polishing all of their guns and then laid down. Aria was asleep and the salt lines were in place. Chase tucked her M1911 pistol under her pillow and closed her eyes. Soon she fell into the world of dreams.

_Her mom was a bartender in a tiny town on the coast of Oregon. Her name was Ella, and she was beautiful. Chase loved her with all of her heart, and Ella loved her back even more. They were alone. Ella never talked about Chase's father. All Chase knew was that he was a hunter, and he had hooked up with her mom for a few weeks before he had to move on, and that her mom had truly loved him. And he hadn't wanted to leave her, but didn't have a choice._

_They knew about hunters, of course, and about the existence of the supernatural. Most hole in the wall bartenders did. And Ella's bar... It was about as hole in the wall as it got. It was tiny, a lone shack on the edge of the highway, with a slightly larger house behind it. It was surrounded by a field, which was surrounded by dense Oregon forest. It was completely isolated. Ella and Chase loved it._

_Slowly, Chase picked up knowledge from the visiting hunters. By age twelve, she knew as much as any average hunter, by age fourteen, she knew more. She spent her time working on their Charger and shooting. Soon she was a better shot than many of the bar's regulars. She played poker with the passing hunters and often won. Life was good._

_Then it wasn't. _

_Chase had been out at a movie with a boy from school. When she got home, the windows of the bar were dark, as were the house windows. Chase knew something was off. The roadhouse didn't close until ten, and it was somewhere around nine. Chase pulled her handgun out of her backpack and silently approached the door. She pushed it and it swung open noiselessly. The scene that greeted her almost sent her to her knees. _

_It was a massacre. _

_Dead hunters lay everywhere, blood pooling around them. The metallic scent of the dark red substance reached her nose and she resisted the urge to vomit. _

_"Mom." She whispered._

_She began to search, wondering if she was having a nightmare. She found her mom behind the bar. There was a napkin clutched in her cold and bloodied hand. A note. For Chase._

_**'Demon. Don't go after it. Take the car and our weapons. Grab my wallet too. Get out of here. Don't look back. I love you.'**_

_Chase grabbed her mom's wallet and the money from the register. She went to the house and packed a small suitcase. She put the weapons in the trunk with the bag of clothes. She put on her moms leather jacket. She lit the house and the bar on fire. _

_Then she threw up._


	3. Chapter 3

"Chase, wake up," Aria nudged her sister. The older girl jolted awake and grabbed frantically under her pillow, her long blonde hair splaying across the mattress.

"Where the _hell _is my gun?" She snarled.

"I took it. Didn't want you to blow my brains out," Aria cooly replied.

"_Where is it?" _Chase echoed, venom lacing the words.

"Duffel," Aria said as she nodded toward Chase's ancient burgundy duffel bag slumped in the corner.

"Thank you," Chase said through gritted teeth.

"I called the Winchesters. They-"

"Who?" Chase interrupted, beginning to relax.

"Sam and Dean, idiot. They said to meet at that diner a few blocks from here." Chase got up and walked over to the corner where her duffel was and retrieved her handgun, which she placed affectionately on the nightstand.

"What time is it?" Chase yawned. She realized Aria was fully dressed and brushing her dull auburn hair. Aria lifted up her wrist and read the blocky numbers on her digital watch

"Eight o'clock, on the dot," The younger girl replied. Chase nodded and produced a stained and worn black tank top from her bag, replacing her stained and worn black pajama shirt with that. Aria had always been amused by Chase's wardrobe. She had clothes in pretty much every color and style, as long as they were black or denim. Plus three band shirts. And almost everything was stained. Some had blood splatters, others had slime from random monsters. A lot had grease stains from the car. As she got dressed, Aria took her hair tie and pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail. Chase finished getting dressed and brushed her hair and teeth.

"You and Dean look alike," Aria said, after about ten minutes of awkward silence between the sisters as they tidied the room.

"There are seven billion people in this world. I bet a lot of people look alike."

"No, I mean you two look, like, I don't know, related. It's weird." Aria insisted. Chase looked away for a few seconds, then shook herself back into reality.

"Like I said, lots of people look alike." She grabbed the keys to her car and her stuff. Aria grabbed her backpack and her book, and then smirked.

"I found something you might wanna see." She said.

"And that is?" Aria walked over to the small counter toward the back of the room. She picked up a small plastic cup and walked back over to Chase.

"Here," Aria handed her the cup. Chase took it and held it up to eye level. She saw a small black dot clinging to the side of the cup. Then she realized the thing had eight legs. Her eyes widened in fear and she launched the cup away from her. A delayed screech erupted from her mouth.

"HOLY MOTHER OF GOD WHAT THE HELL, ARIA!" Chase yelled. Aria threw herself forward in a laugh, clutching her stomach.

"Gotcha!" She managed to huff out between bouts of laughter. Chase glared at her angrily.

"_Never_ tell me what you're afraid of. I'll probably use it against you," Aria said with a wild-eyed smirk.

"Do _not_ do that again!" Chase said, her tone menacing.

"Oh, fine," Aria rolled her eyes. "You're no fun."

Chase continued to glare at Aria and opened the motel room door, stalking out into the parking lot. Aria followed and got into the Charger.

"I swear to God, if you ever do that again, I will _skin_ you," Chase hissed through gritted teeth, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Okay, Okay, relax," Aria chuckled. Chase pulled into the diner's parking lot and pulled the key out of the ignition. They headed inside.

Apparently, the Winchesters hadn't arrived yet, so Chase picked a booth. She chose the one in the corner opposite from the door, so she could watch who came into and left the diner. It also happened to be next to an exit, which was a huge plus. They sat and ordered coffee. Chase spiked hers again and ignored the look from her little sister. Soon Sam and Dean walked in, their eyes sweeping the tables. Their gazes fell on Chase and Aria, and soon all four were seated comfortably at the booth. Aria glanced at her sister, who was sitting across from her and next to Dean. They could be related, they looked so similar. She was about to point this out when Dean picked up a conversation with Chase about cars. Sam looked at her in apology.

"Sorry. Dean never gets to talk cars with anyone. God knows I don't know anything about them."

"Don't worry about it. Chase hardly ever talks to anyone. I'm glad she found a friend." Aria said, smiling. Sam looked across the booth again, to where Chase and Dean were deeply submerged in the subject of pistons.

"They look alike, don't they?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah. It's weird." Aria replied.

Soon, their food came. Aria dug into her pancakes, pausing only when Dean pulled out a flask and poured some whiskey in his coffee.

"What the actual hell." She said, the statement drawing the other three hunters' attention.

"Are you sure you're not related?" The question was directed at the two people across from her. Dean looked at Chase, and Aria saw something spark in his eyes. Recognition? Disbelief? She wasn't sure. He covered it too quickly. He changed the subject.

"So, how did you guys get into hunting?" He asked.

"It's kind of a long story," Aria said quietly.

"We've got time," Sam replied. 

_11-year-old Aria and her mom sat on the edge of a public dock on Lake Michigan, their legs dangling over the shining blue water. Her dad walked on to the rickety wooden dock with the daily newspaper. _

"_I think we might have a job to take," He said._

"_What is it?" Aria asked. "Can I come this time?" Her dad looked at her mom and raised his eyebrows._

"_I think she's old enough," Her mom said and smiled. Her dad had a momentary look of hesitation on his face. _

"_Sarah, I don't think-"_

"_Jack," Sarah interrupted in a firm voice. "I think she'd be fine. There's a roadhouse a few miles east, so she could go there if anything goes wrong." Aria got up and walked over to her dad. _

"_So, what is it?" _

"_A werewolf, I think."_

"_Then let's get moving," Aria's mom said as she got up off of the sun-baked wood._

_As the sun was setting, they loaded up their guns with silver bullets. Aria didn't know much about hunting, since this was her first actual hunt. Even though she had been to countless roadhouses and met dozens of hunter's kids who told her to not get into the business, she had spent the past three years waiting for her parents to let her go into the field with them. _

_She grabbed her backpack, in which she placed her two favorite books, the lighter her mom had snuck her for her tenth birthday, and an old, scratched up locket that she never wore with a small picture of her mom and her dad in it. She didn't know why she put the necklace in there. It just felt right. She zipped up the bag and tucked her gun into the old holster that her dad had let her borrow. She put a few extra rounds into the small pocket in her plaid, flannel shirt. Finally, she threw on her deeply worn in leather jacket and met with her parents outside the hotel room they were staying in. _

_Her dad had decided on walking over to the place where the wolf was instead of taking the car. They started on the somewhat short trek to an old house just about 50 yards from where a body was found about a month before, with the heart ripped out of the man's chest. They knocked on the door to the run-down, painted brick house, but no one answered. Aria's dad turned the doorknob, surprised when it twisted without any effort. _

_Sarah went in first, holding her gun out in front of her. All the lamps in the house were off, and the only light came from a large window, where the gleam of the full moon poured into the living room. Jack shined a flashlight onto the floor and saw dry blood soaked into the off-white carpet. Aria pulled her gun out of it's holster and aimed it in front of her. She heard soft footsteps behind her. She tried to scream for her parents to get out of the way, but she was too late. The thing had dug its claws into her father's back, pinning him to the ground. The wolf ripped out his heart and devoured it in a matter of moments, snarls echoing through the dark house. Aria screamed and fired rapid shots at the creature. None of them reached it's heart. They just made the wolf angry. It whipped it's head around and snarled at her, crouching to pounce on the young girl. Sarah jumped in front of her daughter, drawing the werewolf's attention. It leapt on Sarah and buried its teeth in her chest. Aria gripped the gun and aimed at the wolf's back, doing her best to steady her shaking hands. She took a deep breath and fired. The bullet pierced the skin of the creature and buried itself deep in the back of the monster crouching over her mother. It fell to the ground, dead. Aria dropped the gun and ran over to Sarah, tears streaming down her face. Aria checked her pulse, but felt nothing. She bit her lip and felt around the gaping hole in her mom's chest._

"_Mom," She whispered. She felt more hot tears forming in her eyes. She clung to the hope that at least one of her parents was alive. She shook her mom, but nothing happened. She also felt her wrist, but it was cold with no pulse. She shook her again and collapsed next to her mother's still form, sobbing and gripping Sarah's hand. Aria didn't move for a long time. When the light of the sun began to shine through the window, she wiped her eyes and got up. She pulled the knife off of her moms belt and considered shoving it into her heart. Maybe then the pain would go away. _

_Then she thought of her parents. They would have wanted her to keep going. She tucked the knife into her backpack, then placed her gun back in it's holster. She grabbed the small can of lighter fluid out of her dad's knapsack and doused all three bodies and most of the bloodstained carpet with it. She dug through her backpack for her lighter. She ripped off part of her mother's shirt, then lit it up. She dropped it on the pool of lighter fluid and ran out of the house. She started walking east, towards the roadhouse that her mom had told her about. There was a long road ahead of her._

Aria bit her lip when she saw the two brother's gaping mouths when her story was finished. She looked over at Chase, who gave her a sad half smile. Aria took comfort in the small gesture.

"Aria… That's horrible. I'm so sorry." Sam said, his voice quiet.

"If there is anything we can do…" Dean added.

"It's fine." Aria replied quickly, happy to be rid of the subject. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Sam looked up at Chase.

"What about you? When did you get pulled into this life?" He asked. Chase flinched as the memories resurfaced, and promptly looked down at her plate. Aria knew how much Chase hated talking about what had happened to her all those years ago. It had taken months for Aria to coax the story out of her sister, and they lived together.

"So where are you guys headed next?" Aria burst out, changing the subject for Chase's sake. Chase looked at her gratefully, the pain of memory still evident in her grey-blue eyes. Dean reluctantly tore his gaze from the older girl and looked at Aria.

"We don't know yet. Haven't found a hunt." He answered.

"Ah. We haven't found one either." Aria said. Chase looked around the restaurant and frowned.

"Well God knows we can't stay here. They will probably figure out who caused the fire in a few days, and I sure as hell don't want to be around when that happens." She said.

"Joy." Aria groaned, her face downcast. "More crappy hotel rooms."

"Well... We have a safe house in Lebanon, Kansas. There's plenty of room for you guys to stay there until you find a hunt. " Sam suggested.

"Uh…" Chase looked at Aria, having a quick silent conversation with the younger girl. Aria nodded, deciding that Sam and Dean could be trusted.

"Sure. Sounds like a plan."

It took twenty-two hours of driving to get to the Winchester's "safe house". When they finally did get there, Chase and Dean were exhausted. Sam had offered to drive her car for a while, as he had with Dean, but they both had politely refused.

Finally, they pulled up in front of the giant abandoned power plant hiding the bunker. Chase frowned and pulled up next to the Impala.

"_This_ is your safe house?" She said as she slowly raised herself out of the car. She stretched her arms behind her and blinked, clearing her stinging eyes. She already missed the rumble of an engine beneath her. Dean closed the driver's door and stepped out into the brisk night air.

"Yeah. Just wait. It's pretty awesome." He said, his eyes betraying how tired he was. Chase knew she looked the same way.

"Alright… You guys sure you have room for us?" Aria asked, stepping out onto the gravel from the Charger's passenger seat. Sam laughed, slinging his duffle over his shoulder and tossing Dean's to him.

"Oh, don't worry, we have more space than we know what to do with."

When Chase and Aria got inside, their eyes widened and their mouths hung open. They stood on the balcony overlooking the large planning room, Dean and Sam coming in behind them.

"How the _hell_ did you get a hold of this place?!" Chase gaped.

"We're just lucky like that." Dean answered, sarcasm lacing the words as he made his way down the stairs. He looked back and flashed them a grin.

"You guys coming?"

An hour later, Chase and Aria were settled in their own rooms, right across the hall from each other. They marveled at how clean everything was. It was so different from the hotel rooms they were used to. They split apart and began to explore the bunker.

Chase strolled into the library, where Dean was seated with a Hot Rod magazine and a glass of whiskey.

"This place is pretty damn impressive." She said, causing Dean to look up.

"Yeah. That's what I keep telling Sam. He just says I had a deprived childhood." Dean answered, only half joking. Chase chuckled darkly.

"Didn't we all."

Dean stood up, his green eye's not breaking eye contact with the Chase's blue ones. Chase stepped back, her hand going to the knife at her belt.

"Stand down, tiger. I just wanted to talk to you." He said.

"About what?" Chase's eyes narrowed.

"What happened in the diner yesterday. You seemed a bit shaken up."

Chase scowled.

"I'm fine." She growled, starting to turn around.

"No, you're not. Look, I'm not a soft and mushy person. I don't talk to people about my problems. I just do my best to handle it myself. It's a bad thing to do, and I have paid for it in more ways than one. This whole dark background thing, I get it. I was raised in this life. I've seen stuff no one should have to see. I've lost people. Just… Don't do what I do. You need to tell someone, get the weight off of your shoulders." Dean's voice was quiet. Chase turned away, biting her lip.

"My mom, Ella." She paused. "She was killed by a Demon. It was bloody. The other hunters… They were torn up. Literally." She turned back around.

Dean's face was white, and she could see his mind spinning.

"Did you say her name was… Ella?" He asked, his voice even more quiet than before..

"Yeah. Ella Gray."

"Did she happen to tend a bar in Oregon?"

"Yes… How did you know that?"

"You're sixteen. And the time we spent at the safe house outside of Lincoln City was a little less than seventeen years ago… I knew I had seen those eyes before." Dean stared at Chase. Chase began to put things together in her head. _He was a hunter, and he had hooked up with her mom for a few weeks before he had to move on..._

"Are you…" She started.

"Chase, I think I'm your dad."


	4. Chapter 4

Chase couldn't breath. Or at least she felt like she couldn't breath. No one was choking her. It was worse. She was overwhelmed, not knowing whether to feel happy or upset or angry. She wanted to be angry. Being angry would be so much easier than experiencing the indescribable feeling in her chest. But she couldn't be angry. None of this was Dean's fault. Then Dean was talking to her.

"I don't know what to say, Chase."

"Neither do I." Her voice was clipped as she hid her emotions, shoving everything down.

"You have every right to be upset…" Dean continued, bracing himself for an onslaught of anger from the girl in front of him. He was surprised when she shook her head.

"I'm not." Chase lied.

"Seriously?" He asked in disbelief. Chase looked up at him.

"I'm just really glad I'm not an orphan." She said before looking away and feigning embarrassment at the mushy statement. In reality, she was acting. She was just pushing away her feelings because they honestly scared the crap out of her. She didn't know Dean well enough yet to fully trust him. She didn't know how to accept him. She didn't know how to have a dad. She couldn't just start acting like she knew him. She didn't. Not yet. Give it a few weeks. Maybe… Maybe if she really tried… He smiled and said,

"Come on, I have something to show you."

He led her to the garage, where a line of shiny vintage cars faced a line of beautifully crafted motorcycles. Her eyes lit up instantly as she took in the huge room. Dean saw her mother in her now, in her eyes, her hair, her stature. He also saw himself. She had his lips and the smile she now wore originally belonged to him.

"This is so cool!" She exclaimed, running her hand across the shining black paint of a bike before bending down to examine the engine. Dean grinned back at her.

"Yea. That was some vampire's ride. We took him out and I couldn't leave such a beautiful machine, so..." He grinned. Then his expression faded a bit. "Look, I don't have much to offer to you. I'm not really dad material. I haven't exactly had much experience. I…" Aria stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"Dean… It's alright. I'm alright. And I'll forgive you. As long as I get that bike." She said, gesturing to the first one she had approached. Dean grinned again.

"It's yours. As long as you wear a helmet."

"See! You're getting the hang of this dad thing already." She laughed, swinging herself onto the bike. Maybe she could eventually trust Dean. If she learned how to have a dad. And trust someone.

* * *

><p>A while later, Chase walked silently into Aria's room. The younger girl was splayed across her bed, headphones on and book out. Chase tapped lightly on the foot of Aria's bed, startling the her. The brunette took off her headphones and sat up, already bubbling with a story.<p>

Aria had seen her sister leave the room across the hall from her, and decided to let her explore on her own instead of being that bratty little sister who's always tagging along. She decided she'd do some exploring of her own, so she got up off of her bed and set her book down, then walked out into the hallway. She decided to go in the opposite direction Chase had gone, and walked down the corridor until she passed a room with an open door. She saw Sam sitting inside what must have been his room, typing away on his laptop. She silently walked over to him and sat in a chair next to him. He looked over at her and smiled, then looked back at whatever he was reading.

"Research?" Aria said, breaking the silence of the room.

"Yeah," he replied. He turned his laptop toward Aria and scooted his chair next to hers so he could see the screen. He opened up a few tabs, newspaper articles, each one showing a different date, picture, and death.

"So get this," He started. "There have been a few pretty violent deaths in the past month just north of here."

"Vengeful spirit, probably. Maybe more than one." Aria muttered, her eyes scanning the glowing screen.

"Yeah, possibly. I don't know what it is yet. Their chests were all torn open, and the hearts were missing, so I'm leaning toward werewolf, but the moon cycle is completely off, too. We've encountered hybrid monsters who differ from the norm, but they're rare. Once we had to get rid of a bunch of wraith-vamp hybrids." Sam replied.

"How do you even find all that info?" Aria asked, clicking on the different tabs and searching for anything related to cause of death.

"I have my ways," Sam said as he scrolled down to the obituary section of the open tab.

"Hmm. You wanna take the hunt?" Aria wondered out loud, doing her best not to think of her parents and their horrible end.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so."

"So you found a hunt?" Chase asked, interested.

"Yeah. Sam says we should work together again since the body count was so high." Aria replied, producing her laptop to show her older sister the research.

"Uh... Aria... I..." Chase began, not knowing how to tell Ari about her linage. Aria looked at her, tensing in caution as she sensed the other girl's distress.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah... It's just... I think that..." Chase was stuttering as she tried to keep her defenses up. She couldn't fall apart in front of her little sister.

"My dad isn't dead." She said quietly. Aria's eyes widened.

"Oh my God! Really? How do you know?" She burst, scooting closer to her sister.

"He's here." Chase's voice shook. Aria had never seen the older girl this shaken.

"Dean." Aria whispered. "Dean's your dad, isn't he."

"Yeah."

"Oh my God. You're not an orphan anymore."

"I know."

"Isn't this a good thing?"

"I have no idea. I haven't had a parent figure for so long. I don't really know how to react. I'm..." She stopped herself. She wasn't going to spill her guts to anyone, not even Aria. She had to put her walls back up.

"I'm happy. It's nice. Really nice." She said. Chase was good. Aria didn't catch the half lie.

"This is so great! Are we gonna stay here for a while?" Aria asked excitedly.

"Darling, have you seen the garage? Of course we're staying for a while." Chase grinned.

The bunker was silent. Everyone was shut in their rooms, either still trying to sleep, or, in most cases, sitting on their laptops, having given up on sleep a while ago. Chase stood in her room, the door locked. She sifted through the money she had left from hustling pool a few weeks ago. There was only a few hundred dollars left. Chase frowned. Even though her newly discovered father would probably hand over a few bills without question, she didn't like the idea of depending on anyone. Even Dean Winchester, who everyone depended on. And Aria needed new jeans and new boots. She needed money.

Chase slipped on her leather jacket and laced her boots before standing to look into the full-length mirror next to her bed. Her eyes took in her tall figure and messy blond hair. They stopped on her face, and she stared at her own eyes. She looked weary… Like her mom used to. She blinked quickly, ducking away from the mirror before she was again assaulted by memories. After shoving her 45 into the back of her jeans, she silently closed her door and snuck outside to her car. She threw her backpack into the passenger seat and started the engine. The deep rumble calmed her and she took a deep breath before backing up and leaving the bunker.

She drove through Lebanon and got on the highway, driving on the 181 until she got to the 9, where she went West until she hit Beloit, a tiny town with a population of only 4,000. The drive took an hour. By the time she got there, it was 10:00 at night.

She found a bar that looked crowded, but not too crowded, and slipped inside, flashing her fake ID at the bartender when she ordered a shot of whiskey. The alcohol burned her throat, waking her up and making her grin. She strolled over to the pool table, where three guys were playing.

"Any of you fellows willing to help me improve my game?" She asked, smiling lightly. She pushed all thoughts of Dean behind her and fell into her usual routine, blowing the first few games and boosting the other player's confidence. And their bets. Then, on her fourth game, she opened up, losing herself in the game and moving like a pro. She won easily, much to the surprise of the men around her, and tucked four $100 bills into her pocket.

"Damn, girl! How old are you?" One of them asked, his eyes wide. Chase threw the man a half smirk and began to walk away, ignoring the faces around her. Most were shocked, a few angry, and some amused.

"I think you've been hustled by a minor." Someone laughed behind her. She ordered another shot and downed it before striding outside and swinging herself into the Charger. She turned the key in the ignition and left the tiny bar. She hit up two more before driving home. She didn't sleep that night, but she raked in $900, so it was worth it.

The next morning, she strolled into Aria's room and slipped the knife from under the pillow of the still sleeping girl before tapping on her arm lightly. Aria jolted up, searching under her head frantically.

"Aria, darling, it's me."

"Oh." Aria blinked and looked up at Chase. "Morning."

"Morning sweetheart. I think we should go buy some toiletries and stuff today." Chase said, moving away from the bed. Aria shifted.

"I need some new jeans. And maybe some nice leather boots." Aria pointed out. Chase smiled.

"I know. We leave in an hour."

Chase made her way to the kitchen, where Dean was cooking eggs.

"You want any?" He asked her.

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks." She said.

"Did you cook something?" He asked, curious. Chase burst out laughing.

"Me? Cooking? I burn water." She snorted.

"You can say that again." Aria added, walking in. The younger girl was freshly showered and her hair was braided over her shoulder.

"Ready to go?" She asked. Chase nodded and grabbed her keys, waving goodbye to Dean before climbing the stairs and slipping outside into the cool morning air. Chase drove to Concordia, which was bigger than Beloit by 1,200 people and a little farther away. They wandered the streets, going in shops that looked like they had potential. Aria found her jeans and her boots. Chase noted hole in the wall bars that she could earn money at. They got lunch at a small restaurant, and Chase's burger was delicious. They hadn't done anything like this in a while, and it felt good. For the first time in a while, both girls were genuinely happy. No dad problems, no monsters, no open wounds, and no need for weapons. Still, Chase had her gun tucked in the back of her jeans, and Aria still had her mother's knife sitting on the top of her books and headphones in her backpack. You know, just in case.

By six, both girls were finished. Aria carried five shopping bags and Chase… Chase had ignored Aria's advice and steered away from the clothing racks, instead being attracted to a weapon store. Aria hadn't been surprised that she had bought a pocket knife. Another pocket knife.

"Why do you need another one?!" She'd groaned, exasperation clearly showing in her face. Chase looked at the shiny blade in her and and shrugged, flashing a grin.

"You can never have too many knives, darling."

"Where did you get all this money anyways?" Chase looked at her boots, thinking fast.

"It's what we had left. I figured we deserved a day on the town." Chase said, keeping her voice normal. Aria bought it, and Chase instantly felt horrible. She hated lying to the other girl, and she was doing it over and over again. She swallowed.

"You ready to go?" Chase asked, helping Aria with a few bags.

"Yeah." The brunette smiled. "I think I am."

They made their way back to the parking lot where the Charger was. Aria felt Chase tense beside her when she saw a group of boys surrounding the shiny red car. They looked about Chase's age, 16 or 17. One of them stroked his hand along the black hockey stripe on the car's side, and Chase hissed darkly, moving towards the group at breakneck speed. Aria hung back slightly, in case her sister needed help. Knowing Chase, she wouldn't.

"Get your dirty asses away from my car, or I'll kick them into next week." Her voice was low, but it would have been less scary if she had yelled. The threat gained the boys' attention, and a few of them backed away after seeing the blonde hunter's malice filled eyes. The leader, however, didn't move from his spot next to the hood of the car. Instead, he placed his hand possessively on the deep red paint and smirked at Chase. Aria winced, thinking about how they were going to get the kid to the hospital. Chase's head ducked forward as she leapt towards the boy and a resonating snap filled the air as her fist broke his nose. The boy went down, clutching at his face and sobbing like a baby.

"Anyone else want to grow a pair and touch the car?" Chase asked, the words still laced with ice. Most of the other boys scrambled back and scattered. Even the kid with the broken nose crawled away. Chase watched coldly as all of them left.

"Pieces of shit." She scoffed before unlocking her car and climbing inside. Aria followed.


	5. Chapter 5

The werewolf had killed two more people. The hunters occupying the bunker were pissed. After a brief meeting, they all packed their bags and loaded into the Impala. Except for Chase, who insisted that she be allowed to take her motorcycle. After a long debate, Dean grudgingly agreed to her terms after making sure she would wear a helmet. Chase practically glowed with happiness, and after their bags were packed and the Charger was stowed safely in the garage, they took off.

Chase loved the the roar of the bike beneath her. She loved the wind in her hair. She loved the feeling of being free, of leaning with turns, of flying. She had to ride this bike more often.

The Impala was in front of her, its red taillights illuminated in the dark. The summer air was warm and nice and everything felt so right. For once it was easy to push the burden of learning to trust down. Out here, it was just her, depending on nothing but herself.

Too soon, they were in Central City, Nebraska. They unloaded the car into their two rooms before eating dinner and then heading to bed. After they had both showered, Aria sat on Chase's bed. Chase was french braiding her sister's dark hair, the still wet strands clinging to the back of Aria's neck before her older sister swept them back into the simple plait.

"Chase?" Aria asked quietly.

"Yes, darling?"

"I feel like something bad is going to happen." Aria turned around, the springs on the bed creaking. Chase pulled the younger girl into a hug before speaking.

"Aria, I won't let anything happen to you. Ever." She said, looking Aria straight in the eyes. Aria shivered, the usually calming grey-blue of Chase's irises only adding to the haunting feeling hovering over her.

That night, both girls slept like logs. In the morning, Sam and Dean departed from the motel dawning suits and fake FBI badges. Chase and Aria waited… And waited… And waited… And finally, at two o'clock, the Winchesters returned. Dean waved a bag of fast food in front of the girls.

"Eat quick, we have to head out soon. I want to get this done before dark."

The girls nodded and dug into their burgers with enthusiasm. Sam and Dean went back to their room and checked over the weapons, making sure they were all loaded with silver. In 45 minutes they were on their way towards the area where all of the bodies had been found. Along the way, Dean lay out the plan.

"Aria, Chase, you two take the left side of the field. I will take the center. Sam takes the right. We're gonna find this son of a bitch and take it out."

* * *

><p>The wheat was tall. Shoulder high on Chase. The hissing sound of the wind blowing through it sent chills up Aria's spine. But she and Chase were fine. She was overreacting. She was being ridiculous. She was on a hunt, and she needed to focus. She watched the swaying of Chase's hair in front of her. The golden-colored strands matched the wheat almost exactly. Aria snickered at the thought of Chase waking up one morning with wheat for hair. Her mind continued to drift with the sway of the grass. She didn't notice the change in the rustling, didn't notice the crunch of footsteps beside her.<p>

However, she did notice when something huge, heavy, and putrid smelling flew out of the golden stalks beside her and pinned her to the ground, sinking its teeth into the her shoulder. She screamed as a wave of agony overtook her, frantically trying to reach the gun that had been knocked out of her hand and now lay in the grass a few feet away. The monster seemed to realize what she was trying to do and shook its head, its strong jaws gripping her shoulder tighter and its teeth sinking deeper into her flesh. She heard her collarbone snap. Through the red daze of pain, she saw the thing's huge head. Like a pit bull, but six times the size. It wasn't a werewolf. She wanted to tell Chase this. Chase, Chase, where was Chase? Chase would save her.

Then she heard gunshots. One after the other. She thought there were four, but she was in too much pain to really be paying attention. The thing's eyes narrowed in anger and suddenly it was releasing her shoulder and she was falling to the ground. She felt warm wetness running down her body, and she could see it staining the ground beneath her red. Blood, blood, so much blood, too much blood, blood blood blood. Like mom. Like dad.

Her vision dimmed a bit and she looked up in time to see the creature race at Chase, its teeth digging into her side and clamping down before it ran into the grass, taking Aria's older sister with it.


	6. Chapter 6

Chase was trying hard not to pass out. The dog's jaws were crushing her chest, constricting it, making it really hard to breath. And the pain… She tried to lock it up, to deal with it, but it demanded to make itself known. Black spots danced through her vision as she fought to control herself. She couldn't lose consciousness. She had to get back to Aria… Aria was hurt… Aria was bleeding. She tried slamming her fist into the beast's face, landing weakened punches on its nose and eyes, but it didn't even phase it. A wave of agony washed over her as the creature holding her leapt over an irrigation ditch and its teeth buried themselves deeper into her chest. Her vision blinked out for a second before a fresh burst of pain roused her once again. This time she was pretty sure she cried out.

Then the dog was dropping her. She hit the ground hard and rolled onto her back. Her vision was tinged red and she was dizzy. Everything was in slow motion. The pain was lessening, and her brain told her she was going into shock.

Gun. She needed a gun. Her gun was gone. Knife? All she had was her silver coated pocket knife.

Maybe if she got the damn thing in the heart… Adrenaline began to fill her and she used the energy to pull her knife out of her pocket. The dog was standing a few feet away from where her feet were. It started towards her, eyes filled with malice. Then it pounced, it's paws landing on Chase's chest, claws digging into her previous wounds and weight snapping a few ribs. Chase didn't feel it. Instead, she was stabbing into the beast's chest with her knife. The blade pierced its heart and it shrieked, drawing back and stumbling before falling to the ground beside Chase, dead.

Chase used the thing's corpse to help her to her knees, before shakily standing. Her hands instinctively went to her chest, pressing against the shredded flesh.

Aria. She had to find Aria. Aria was hurt.

She stumbled through the wheat, her pain glazed mind drifting. Her vision blacked out again, and the next thing she knew, she was on the ground, staring up at the fading sky. She could feel the adrenaline leaving her system.

The sky was so beautiful. Like Aria. Like her mom had been. Like empty highways at dusk. The sky was so beautiful.

* * *

><p>They heard a scream. Then gunshots. The two brothers ran towards the sound, weapons drawn.<p>

"Aria! Chase!" Sam yelled. There was panic in his voice.

"Chase! God dammit, show us where you guys are!" Dean's loud voice carried across the field. There was no answer but rustling wheat.

"We should split up. We'll find them faster." Sam suggested quickly, and the two each ran in a different direction.

Dean had nothing. He had already looked for at least five minutes and there was… Nothing. No Aria. No Chase. Someone could die in five minutes… He pushed the thought away. He had to find them. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't. Then he heard Sam.

"Shit! Dean! I found Aria! Hurry!"

He ran towards Sam's voice.

Aria was on the ground, Sam crouched over her. Her shoulder was a bloody mess and her breaths were coming in short pants. Her eyes were clenched shut.

Sam was checking her pulse. He frowned when he felt how weak and thready it was.

"She's losing blood." He said quickly. Dean was way ahead of him, his flannel off and already ripped into makeshift bandages. Sam took one and pressed it into the gory bite mark. Aria's eyes flew open.

"Chase." Her usually strong voice was a weak whisper.

"It's us, Sam and Dean." Sam responded.

"Chase! It's…" The girl swallowed. "It's not a werewolf."

Sam looked at Dean, his expression blank. Worried. Aria was breathing faster. Then her eyes slipped closed and she went limp.

"Shit! Dean, she needs a hospital. I'm gonna call 911." Sam said, standing and flipping open his phone.

Dean nodded and took off into the wheat. He needed to find Chase.

It was dark. The grass was way too tall.

"Damn farmers need to mow the lawn." Dean muttered under his breath. The now grey stalks of grain didn't answer him. He was worried. More worried than he'd care to admit. Chase was his daughter. She was his responsibility. He hadn't even had her for a week, and she might be gone… He cursed himself for thinking that way. Chase was alive. She was a fighter.

A few minutes later, he almost tripped over her.

The extent of her injuries was visible even in the rapidly fading light. Dean knelt next to her, fingers going to her neck. Her pulse was there, but barely. It was faint and erratic. Just like her breathing.

Her whole chest was covered in blood, the red substance seeping out of a jagged bite wound spanning from her side to the middle of her stomach. Dean swallowed. It looked like the thing had carried her in it's mouth.

He gently felt along her ribs. Four were definitely broken. There were probably quite a few cracked ones too. Nothing else felt broken. He ripped the rest of his flannel into strips and bound her chest as tight as he could. It must have been painful. Dean expected Chase to wake up, but she didn't even stir.

"Dammit Sam, that ambulance better be here. She's gonna need it." He said quietly as he carefully scooped up his daughter. He started walking.

After a few minutes, Chase moaned. Dean almost dropped her.

"Chase! Chase are you with me?" He asked frantically.

"Aria…" Her voice was rough and she coughed wetly.

"Chase it's me. It's Dean. I've got you."

"No… Aria… She's hurt… Not a werewolf."

"I know. Aria's on her way to the hospital."

Chase relaxed a bit. Dean looked down at her. Her lids were open, revealing slits of glazed blue. She coughed again and they slipped closed. There was blood on her lips.

"Chase, keep your eyes open. Stay with me."

Chase blinked her eyes back open after a few moments.

"Aria okay?" She asked.

Dean picked up his pace.

* * *

><p>Sam had picked Aria up off of the ground and carried her to where the road met the wheat. Her eyes had fluttered open once or twice, and she muttered something too quiet for Sam to hear. He sat on the side of the road with Aria's head in his lap. When he heard the squealing of the sirens and saw the flashing red and white lights, he lifted Aria back into his arms and stood up. He yelled at the ambulance and it pulled over. The doors in the back swung open and two medics ran out, one heading towards Aria and Sam while the other wheeled out a gurney. Sam and the first medic helped Aria onto the gurney while the second setup and IV line. They loaded Aria into the truck and took off.<p>

A few minutes later, Sam heard the rotors of a helicopter. It swept overhead, circling the field before dropping down near the middle of it. He took off in that direction.

The helicopter was taking off by the time Sam got there. Dean was standing back and watching it lift into the sky, his face weary.

"They're flying her to the hospital." He said quietly.

"Aria's in the ambulance." Sam responded.

"God dammit. This is all my fault." Dean hissed, turning away. "Can't even protect my own daughter."

"Dean! This isn't your fault! Don't you dare blame yourself."

Dean turned and stalked off to the car.

* * *

><p>Sam and Dean drove to the hospital, following the siren's screams.<p>

"Dean, this wasn't your fault," Sam said again.

" I could have prevented it," Dean replied.

"How, Dean? How could you have prevented this?" Sam asked, his voice sparking with anger. Dean pressed into the gas in response.

The two brothers sat in silence as they drove along the road. It took about 17 minutes for them to reach the hospital. Dean paced back and forth in the waiting room and Sam sat in one of the chairs that lined the walls. They both looked up when they heard someone call their last name. A weary looking doctor with grey hair and a wrinkled face was standing in the door.

"You're Aria's father?" He asked Dean, who looked at Sam. Sam nodded.

"Yeah. Please tell me she's ok."

"Aria lost quite a bit of blood… We have her on a blood transfusion line now. She still hasn't regained consciousness, but she's stable. She also has a broken collarbone, but that's not as serious as her other injuries. She required quite a few stitches. The concussion was pretty bad, so I suggest she stays her under observation for at least three days. You can go see her now, if you'd like. She should be waking up soon." He finished.

"Yeah, doc. Thanks. What about my other daughter? Chase? Is she alright?"

"I'm sorry, sir. She isn't out of surgery yet."

Dean paled at the mention of surgery. Was it that bad? Was she going to be okay? Was Aria going to be okay? This was all his fault. He should have done something to prevent this. He should have pulled the girls out of the life of a hunter. He should have put them in school, given them something normal to build off of. It was his fault.

He wanted to spill this onto the white floor. He wanted to tell Sam how sorry he was. He wanted to fix everything with a snap of his fingers. But he couldn't.

Instead, he followed the doctor to Aria's room.

Sam stayed behind to wait for Chase to come out of surgery. Dean walked into the small hospital room after the doctor and saw Aria. She wore a hospital gown instead of her plaid flannel and blue jeans, and her auburn hair had been washed and was laying behind her shoulders. Her left shoulder was bandaged up. A lot. Her left arm was in a sling. Her dark brown eyes slowly opened. She looked around the room, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion or out of worry. The expression left her face and was replaced with relief when she saw Dean leaning up against the wall.

"Can I talk to her? Alone?" Dean asked the doctor. He nodded his head and then left the room. Dean walked over to Aria and sat on the foot of her bed.

"Chase is ok, right?" Aria asked him quietly.

"She isn't out of surgery yet," Dean replied, even quieter. He looked down at his lap. She couldn't see him cry. Not here, not now.

"She's going to be okay. She has to be okay." Aria voiced Dean's thoughts. "She's strong and she will fight until she's ok. You and Chase have a lot in common," Aria said a little louder. "You're both strong, but you don't want anyone, not even your younger siblings, to see your emotions. You push them away." Dean looked at the girl and blinked, his eyes betraying his fear and guilt.

"It's all my fault," Dean said. "I'm sorry," Aria's lips parted a little in either surprise or forgiveness.

"I heard it coming. I heard it coming and I didn't react in time," Aria said and bit her lip.

"Aria, we can get you two out of hunting. You can be normal and go to school," Dean said. He sounded a little pitiful, to Aria's surprise.

"Listen to me Dean," Aria said firmly. "I had to grow up fast, and believe me, it's hell. I would give _anything_ to stop and slow down. But you know what? That won't happen because I'm a hunter. Hunters can't stop and slow down. If I stop now, I'll probably have a bunch of creatures up my ass. And trust me, I _know_ you tried to stop. I know Sam tried to stop. But look around, Dean. Does it look like your efforts led to success?"

"You and Sam have a lot in common, too," Dean said."You think you know things that you don't. I had to grow up just as fast as you, maybe even faster, and I know what hell _actually_ feels like. My dad pushed me and Sam, he pushed us hard. And now he's dead. My, uh, uncle Bobby was really our only family left. Now he's gone too. Everyone is gone. I feel like it's my fault." Aria stared blankly at Dean for a few seconds before speaking up.

"You can't blame yourself. I learned that when my parents died. You just gotta keep going like they would have wanted you to. As for not having anyone, you have me and Chase and Sam, and we aren't planning on going anywhere. We're family now. We've got each other's backs." She said. Dean looked at her, his expressive green eyes shining.

"Wise words from a girl hopped up on pain meds." Dean smiled sadly. She reached out with her right arm and he bent down and hugged her gently. She hugged him back as well as she could without tearing stitches.

He smelled like Chase. Like whiskey and car grease and leather and stale motel rooms and crowded bars and smoke. It was her favorite smell.

* * *

><p>Sam had started pacing five minutes after Dean left. He was worried. Really, really, worried. If Chase had had to go into surgery, it must have been bad. Of course, he could remember plenty of times when he or John or Dean had had to have emergency surgery. But that wasn't the point. Chase was hurt. Aria was hurt. Dean was blaming himself.<p>

And Saw worried out of his mind. For all three of them.

"Winchester?" A loud female voice carried across the room. Sam looked up immediately, relieved to see a doctor standing in the doorway. Her blonde hair was tied back and her face was stern but kind. She was scanning the room with sharp grey eyes.

"I'm Sam Winchester. Chase's uncle. Her dad is with her sister." Sam said, anxiety filling his voice.

"Chase just got out of surgery. She is very lucky to be alive." She started. Sam swallowed dryly. "She has four broken ribs. One of them punctured her lung, which is one of the reasons she went into surgery. There was also a large amount of internal bleeding, which we fixed. We had to put her on a oxygen because of her lung. She's in the ICU now. I can take you to see her, but I'm warning you now that she's hooked up to a lot of stuff. It's going to look a bit scary." The doctor informed Sam, who followed her easily. He had heard injury rundowns more times than he would have liked.

"Take me to see her." He said.

* * *

><p>Chase was floating. Drifting through darkness. Warm darkness. It wasn't unpleasant, but she felt like something was wrong. There was something she had to do. She needed to wake up, get a grip. She tried to move, but her limbs were numb and too heavy and she began to sink deeper into the dark. She tried harder. Feeling slowly began to seep back into her arms and legs. There was someone holding her hand. Squeezing slightly. She wanted to squeeze but her fingers wouldn't work. She thought she got her fingers to twitch a bit though. Something jerked next to her and the warmth over her hand disappeared, and then someone was yelling. The words were garbled, and Chase figured that she was drugged up to her ears.<p>

There was something covering her mouth, which was making her claustrophobic. And it was annoying. She tried weakly to lift her arm and remove whatever it was, but a big hand on her wrist stopped her.

"Chase? You with me? We've got to leave the mask on. It's helping you breath."

The girl opened her eyes slowly, searching the room. Dean was sitting next to her, his hand on her arm.

"You're in hospital. You've been out for a few days." He said. Chase blinked. She had already figured out that she was in a hospital. She wanted to know if Aria was okay. Had she distracted the stupid dog thing in time?

"You're sister is fine." Dean added. Chase sagged into the mattress beneath her in relief and let her eyes slip closed. She felt Dean chuckle a bit at her reaction and she pushed her hand into his. Her dad was there, watching over her. Aria was okay. It was all okay. The blonde hunter let herself drift back into the deep darkness, feeling completely safe.


	7. Chapter 7

Waiting was a bitch. So was the bright white of the hospital room. So was the pissy nurse currently prodding at Chase's wounds. Chase hissed as the older woman pressed down on one of the deeper holes in her side.

"God damn it!" She said through gritted teeth. "Aren't you done yet?"

"No sweetie. I've got to check the other side." The nurse replied, a smug smile on her face. She had been dealing with the stubborn blonde hunter for almost a week, and the girl had grated down on even the sweetest nurses' nerves. She been caught in the act of four escape attempts. She had also somehow been supplied with six throwing knives, all of which were now deeply embedded in a yellow spray painted smiley-face on the wall. Her father had apologized and offered to pay for the damage, but a few minutes later she saw him fist bump the bed-ridden girl.

All in all, she was more than ready to be rid of the teenager sitting in front of her.

And Chase was more than ready to be gone.

Finally, the nurse deemed her set for released. She helped Chase up from the bed and into the hallway, where Dean, Sam, and Aria were waiting.

"Let's get out of this hell hole." Chase huffed.

"Agreed." Aria answered, and the slightly worse for wear quartet exited the dreaded building.

They climbed into the Impala and Dean reached forward to turn on the radio. _Hotel California_ spilled out of speakers, and Chase grinned. She was so glad to be out of that damn hospital. She hated hospitals.

The blonde shifted a bit in the back seat, wincing slightly when her stitches were stretched. Dean saw the small reaction in the rear view mirror and was instantly turning down the volume.

"Chase? You okay? Did your stitches pull?" He asked anxiously. Sam and Aria laughed in unison.

"You're becoming more of a dad already." Sam grinned at his brother from the passenger seat. Dean scowled and turned the volume back up. The song was over, and Dean complained quietly about missing the guitar solo. He wasn't actually upset though. He was just happy that Aria and Chase were alright. Chase's loud voice from the back drew his attention.

"My bike! Are we just going to leave it here?"

"For now, yea. I figured that we could come back and pick it next week. Maybe do some school shopping…" Dean started, only to be interrupted by Aria.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Hold up. School shopping?" She asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Dean, school shopping is reserved for kids who go to school." Chase finished.

"Yea, well the new school year starts next month, and I figured you guys could go until you're healed up fully. Then, if you still wanted to, you could go back to hunting." Dean looked into the rear view again and was met by two icy gazes. Sam quickly stepped in, knowing that Dean had never been one for delivering news softly.

"Guys, you don't have to go for a long time. Just for a few weeks. Who knows? You might kind of enjoy it. Just please, try it." He pleaded, and the glares from the back seat softened a bit. Before Chase moaned loudly.

"Fine. But only for a while. I'm done as soon as the first quarter ends." She said.

"If not before." Aria added, and Sam smiled again. Dean promptly turned the volume back up. Black Sabbath filled the car, and within minutes everyone was once again in good spirits.

* * *

><p>Hey guys! So I know this was a lame chapter, and I apologize. I was running on fumes here in terms of inspiration. Comments are always appreciated :)<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

It was three in the morning, and Chase still hadn't fallen asleep. She stared at the ceiling, thinking about school. She had been an eighth grader when her mom had been killed, three years ago. Thirteen years old. She had been a few years ahead in math and english, and she had enjoyed school. She had had friends, a social life, and a boyfriend.

Such things seemed so petty now, after all she had seen and done. She had killed, she had burned, she had stolen, she had broken too many laws to count. How could she go back to being normal, when she had so much behind her? Would she be considered a freak? Would Aria?

She slipped out of bed silently and padded out of her room. She crossed the hall and slowly opened Aria's door. The younger girl was slumped against a pillow, a book on her chest. The lamp by her bed was on, shedding golden light on the room. Chase gently slipped the book from her sister's hands, and Aria opened her eyes.

"It's me." Chase whispered.

"I know. I recognized your footsteps." Aria responded, closing her eyes.

"Why aren't you asleep, darling?" Chase asked.

"Same reason you aren't. Insomniac, remember?" Aria said, gesturing to herself.

"How could I forget?" Chase replied, allowing weariness to seep into her voice. She looked at her sister in the dim light. Her dark hair curled slightly as it wound down past her shoulders, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Her shoulder was still wrapped up, bulky under her tee-shirt. Aria opened her eyes again and scowled slightly.

"Quit staring." Aria demanded.

"You're grumpy when you're on meds." Chase stated with a grin, and Aria rolled her eyes. Chase laughed quietly and walked back towards her room. She stopped in Aria's doorframe.

"Sleep tight and don't get eaten by ghouls."

"Don't get taken by a wendigo."

"Don't get killed by a black dog."

"And watch out for poltergeists. They'll get you good." Aria finished, now smiling a bit. Chase laughed and made her way back to her room.

"Man, we're pretty screwed up." She told herself before climbing into bed once again.

* * *

><p>A couple of days later, Dean and Sam left to take care of a salt and burn a few towns over. While they were out, Chase and Aria decided to watch a movie. They settled on <em>The Avengers. <em>Chase attempted to make popcorn, which ended with a cloud of smoke rising from the microwave and Chase beating the burning bag or half popped kernels with a wet towel.

Aria made the popcorn.

Chase stood far away from the kitchen and scratched at the bandages surrounding her middle, watching Aria warily while Aria cracked up.

"You left a scorch mark on the floor." Aria giggled at Chase's scowl.

"Yea, well you… Uh…" Chase stuttered, trying to find the right insult.

"Having trouble over there, big sis?" Aria was laughing even harder, and Chase joined in before they both settled down to watch the movie.

When the Winchesters returned, they found both of the girls asleep on the couch, Aria's head resting on a pillow in Chase's lap, Chase's head thrown back over the couch. Sam and Dean both smiled before Dean moved forward and covered the girls with a blanket.

"Aww." Sam whispered, his voice mocking. Dean shoved him playfully, and they both walked back to their rooms.

Aria woke at 4:00 A.M.. She sat up, yawned, rubbed her eyes, and glanced around. Chase still had her head hanging over the back of the couch, and Aria realized that Sam or Dean had put a blanket over them. Aria yawned again and shook Chase awake.

"Get off, you son of a bitch!" Chase's head darted up and reached for an imaginary weapon somewhere to her right and clutched at her side when it protested at the sudden movement.

"Right," Aria said as she steadied her sister's arms. "Okay." Chase looked down at Aria's hands and then up to her face as she slowly gained awareness.

"Why did you wake me up? You okay?" Chase asked, concern in her eyes.

"I'm fine. I woke up, and I really hate watching other people sleep. It's awkward," Aria replied, now fully awake.

"Coffee." Chase said with a yawn, to which Aria nodded. The younger girl got up and walked to the kitchen and brewed a pot of coffee. She poured it into two mugs, adding a small bit of sugar to hers and an even smaller bit of whiskey to Chase's. Chase turned on the light as Aria walked over to her with the coffee, stepping over the burnt piece of floor from the popcorn incident. She set the mugs on the coffee table and sat down on the couch. Chase picked up the mug closest to her and took a sip. She cringed.

"Sugar," She said sarcastically. "Yum." Aria silently laughed and handed Chase the other mug.

"_This _one's yours," Aria said as Chase switched drinks with her. Chase took a sip out of her cup and smiled.

"You know me so well," She said and took another sip. Aria told Chase about the day she and Sam had done a whole bunch of research and come so close to figuring out what had almost eaten them alive. Then Chase told Aria about how while Aria had been with Sam, Dean taken her to his room and showed her all of his guns and knives and vinyls. Long after they'd finished their coffee and their conversation had drifted to dreams they'd had the past few nights, a half-asleep Sam walked out of his room and into the kitchen before making himself some coffee. The girls watched him and waited until he sat at the end of the couch before speaking.

"Morning, sunshine," Aria said.

"Uh," He said, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "Morning. How long have you two been up?" Aria lifted her wrist closer to her face and looked at her watch.

"Two and a half hours," She said. "Give or take."

Sam nodded and continued to sip his coffee. After about five minutes of silence, Sam's eyes widened. He turned toward the girls.

"I think I figured out what attacked you guys."


	9. Chapter 9

"So there are hellhounds and black dogs. Two separate creatures. But I've been asking around in the hunter community, and one guy says he's killed something that he thinks was a cross between the two. It was built like an extra large black dog, but had the head shape and tooth arrangement of a hellhound. It died when he got it through the heart with a silver bullet..." Sam looked at Chase who was studying her shoes with deep interest. Aria looked at her wounded shoulder.

"Yep. It definitely had some hell-worthy teeth." She said, and Sam nodded. They sat in awkward silence for a moment before Sam pushed himself up from the couch.

"I'm gonna go get breakfast stuff. Any requests?" He asked, grabbing the keys to the Impala.

"Get me some pie." Dean said loudly as he entered the room. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Uh… Cereal for me. Lucky Charms, if they have any. Thanks." Chase asked, and Aria smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Cool." Sam said and left. Dean sat on a chair next to the couch, coffee in hand.

"So… School shopping." He started.

"Yea. Uh, I was thinking today or tomorrow. Just to get it done." Chase said. Aria looked at Chase pointedly.

"And you want your bike back as soon as possible." She finished for the older girl. Chase glared at her and Dean chuckled.

"You won't be riding that thing for a while, Chase. But yeah, we can go today. If you're up for it." He said, standing up. Chase shifted on the couch and spoke.

"Of course we're up for it. I mean, I know that I personally _love_ shopping." Sarcasm laced the words and Dean chuckled again.

"Alright, we leave in an hour."

* * *

><p>The drive was long and the small trailer behind the Impala rattled loudly the whole way. By the time they arrived, all three hunters were ready to torch it. Instead, they loaded the bike onto it and took off again, headed a few towns over to where there was a shopping center.<p>

Chase hadn't been to a mall in seven years. She hadn't wanted to spend her mom's sparse money on clothes that she didn't need, or shoes she was only going to wear once. She hadn't seen a point. She stared silently out the window, her eyes drifting closed as she fell into a shallow sleep, dreaming vividly of her childhood.

_Chase blinks, eyebrows drawing together._

"_You want to.." Chase starts, confusion evident in her voice._

"_Take you to a mall, darling." Her mom interrupts. She has a cheery smile on her face._

"_You hate cities. And crowds." Chase points out._

"_Yea, but we're still going." Her mom grins again._

"_I hate cities. And crowds." Chase adds._

"_It'll be fun. And honey, we've definitely earned a shopping trip."_

_They drive to the nearest shopping mall, which to a nine year old Chase seems huge. She gets boots. And a dress. Chase can count on one hand how many dresses she's owned in her life, many of which she despised. But this dress is special._

_She sees it from across the store, simple grey fabric with a knee length skirt and long sleeves, and goes to investigate. Upon closer examination, she realizes that the dress had pockets, and shows it to her mom, who grins again._

"_Chase Gray apparently only wears grey clothes." She jokes, gesturing to the grey tee-shirt and slightly darker grey jeans that Chase has on. _

"_Yea, well so does Ella Gray." Chase laughs back, before taking another lick at her ice cream and running across the tile floors and into the doorway of another store._

_She look back at her mom, who's smiling._

_Then Ella blinks, and her eyes are black pits. _

_Blood is seeping from her stomach and blossoming over her shirt._

_She begins to laugh._

Chase jolted awake suddenly. The other hunters were staring at her in concern.

"You okay?" Aria asked.

"Fine." Chase said shortly, straightening and looking out the window. It's not like the dream was anything new. Dean slowly looked back towards the road, but Aria continued to stare at Chase. She knew the older girl wasn't fine. No matter how hard Chase tried to hide her feelings, Aria saw right through the act.

They arrived at the shopping center, which was packed with people. Dean carefully parked the Impala and the four hunters climbed out of the car. The air was hot and carried the scent of gasoline. Aria's mouth twitched into a small smile.

Normal.

She was going to do something normal.

* * *

><p>Chase and Aria stood in front of Forever 21, staring at the store with a mixture of awe and fear.<p>

"Look how huge it is."

"I know."

"There's a whole lot of people in there."

"I know."

"You ready?"

"No idea. Let's do this."

The girls pushed open the door. Chase stopped as soon as "Problem" by Ariana Grande hit her ears.

"Fucking really?" She groaned. "I don't know if I can do this, Aria."

"Come on. I know it sucks, but maybe you'll find something that you like." The two girls passed a rack of shirts labeled with #selfie and Aria shriveled under Chase's glare. The other girls in the store stared at them.

The two teenagers didn't exactly fit in, with their flannel and leather, one with bandages peeking out from under the neck of her shirt, and the other holding her arm protectively over her side. And they looked dangerous, as most hunters did, giving off an aura of "You shouldn' t mess with us." Most of the store's other customers steered clear.

Aria noticed a girl holding a large Starbucks and wearing a cropped Nirvana shirt gesture at them and whisper to her friend, who snickered. The other girl was wearing almost the exact same thing, but with a bright red and pink flannel shirt tied around her waist and, instead of Nirvana, a Rolling Stones tee.

"Probably never even heard of those bands," Aria said under her breath and rolled her eyes.

"Okay. We're leaving." Chase said quickly. They were both glad to be leaving the store.

They both had more luck at Hot Topic, where they each bought a few band tee-shirts. Chase found some jeans at another store, and Aria found a pair of shorts in another. Aria bought socks and Chase got a pair of maroon Dr. Martin's. before meeting up with Sam and Dean, who had gone to an ammo store to re-stock.

Sam eyed the shopping bags that the girls were holding.

"Found some stuff?"

Aria and Chase nodded, each girl having a slight grin on their faces, as if they had actually had a normal, _real _experience.

The four stood out like a sore thumb in that mall. Two extremely tall, extremely handsome men with stained shirts and the the girls, who looked like they had never heard of sleep. They found their way out into the parking and into the waiting Impala, more than happy to go back to somewhere where they actually fit in.

* * *

><p>Okay so my writer's block has dissipated for the most part, so I will be posting a bit more now. Thanks for your patience... Reviews are more than welcome!<p>

-Emma


	10. Chapter 10

It was the first day of school. Aria was a bit nervous, but she quickly pushed down the feeling and continued getting dressed.

An old pair of jeans, her favorite pair, even though there was a growing rip across the right knee. One of Chase's old tees, a fading Metallica shirt. Flannel, boots, jacket. Quickly brushed hair in a ponytail. It didn't take her as long as she'd thought.

* * *

><p>Chase was slightly more on edge. People were douches, and she and Aria didn't react well to douches. She just hoped that neither one of them would have a reason to break someone's nose. That never ended well.<p>

She slowly pulled on her favorite shirt, a Guns N' Roses tour shirt that had belonged to her mom, and some jeans. She struggled to pull on her boots without pulling her stitches, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Give me a minute!" She yelled, trying harder to reach her foot.

"I can help you put those on if you want." Dean's voice carried through the door. "I know how sucky putting on shoes can be with stitches." He continued. Chase paused and considered his offer.

"Fine. Thanks." She said shortly and sat back a bit on the bed as her dad came in. He knelt before her and took up her foot in his lap.

"Nice boots." He commented.

"Thanks." She replied slowly. She remembered her mom tying her shoes just like this, back when she was just a little kid. Teaching her how to make the knots.

"Do you want to drive or do you want me to take you?" Dean asked, drawing his daughter out of her head and back into the real world. The offer was his awkward attempt at being fatherly, and it made both of them uncomfortable. Chase laughed quietly.

"I'll drive." She said, and Dean smiled a bit, knowing he would want to do the same thing.

"Okay. I made eggs for breakfast. They're in the kitchen when you're ready." Dean stood up.

"Thanks." Chase nodded, and began braiding her hair behind her ear. After Dean left, she glanced in the mirror.

"Great. I only look a little bit like a delinquent. " She groaned under her breath. "Let's do this."

* * *

><p>"You've got blood on your jeans." Aria commented.<p>

"Shit." Chase mumbled through a mouthful of eggs, looking away from the road to scratch at the reddish mark on her lower thigh. Aria laughed and dug back into the paper plate of food resting in her lap. Chase swallowed and looked over at Aria.

"You've got mud on your sleeve." She fired back, and it was Aria's turn to curse while Chase chuckled under her breath, attention once again on the road. She had washed her car last night, and the deep red paint glinted in the sunlight. It put her in a good mood. They were going to be fine. This was going to be alright. Aria shifted in her seat and reached for the radio, which began to blare Lynyrd Skynyrd. Both girls immediately began singing along.

Tuesday's gone with the wind.

Oh, my baby's gone with the wind again…

They reached the parking lot, which was filled with cars and people. The deep rumble of the Charger's engine turned heads and people stared as Chase swung the muscle car into a parking space. The girls stepped out onto the pavement, and Chase smirked when people elbowed each other and pointed.

This might actually be fun.

The school was pretty big. About 3,000 kids. The biggest one for hundreds of miles. They had picked it on purpose, in hopes that they wouldn't stick out as much. The girls were filed in the school records as Chase and Aria Winchester, sisters from Lebanon who were living with their father and his brother. Their mother had died in a car crash five years ago. Chase was sixteen, a junior, and Aria was a fourteen year old freshman.

They visited the office in search of their schedules, as they had missed orientation. The lady at the desk eyed them cautiously, eyes running over their shirts and muddy shoes.

"Here. Feel free to ask anyone for directions if you need help finding a class." Her tone held slight disapproval, barely covered with forced kindness. Chase half smirked.

"Oh we will. Thank you _so_ much for your help." She kept her voice even, overly sweet, and filled with subtle sarcasm. Aria elbowed her, but thankfully the secretary didn't have the brainpower to catch onto the fact that Chase was mocking her. The girls left the office.

"This is it." Aria started.

"You'll be fine." Chase replied. "Just be yourself, and if no one likes you, don't worry. You always have your awesome older sister to hang out with."

"Aww, thanks, Chase. That makes me feel so much better."

"Don't mention it darling. Find me at lunch." Chase said with a wave, and turned on her heel, striding off to class.

* * *

><p>Chase's walked into her first period, taking in the rows of kids and noting the exits. The teacher was older, with white hair combed over the top of his hair. There were smile lines around his eyes and his belly stuck out a bit. He looked over at her from the front of the room, halfway through calling role. The students turned to look at her, and she stood up straighter, tensing a bit. The teacher broke the silence.<p>

"You must be Chase. Welcome to Riverview High School." He greeted in a deep tone.

"Didn't see any rivers on the drive here. The name's a bit misleading." She replied with an easy smile. The class laughed collectively, and the teacher smiled.

"Ah, a sarcastic one. I'm Mr. Ford. You can sit next to Genevieve." He said, gesturing to an open seat next to a girl with a wild mane of curly red hair. Chase nodded in thanks and slid into her seat as Mr. Ford continued to read off names.

"Quite the entrance." The redhead, Genevieve, whispered to her.

"I try." Chase replied shortly with a grin. The other girl smiled back. Chase decided that she liked her.

"So where are you from?" Genevieve continued.

"Currently? Lebanon." Chase replied quietly as she grabbed a pencil out of her backpack. Genevieve nodded and looked up at Mr. Ford, who had pulled up a picture on the board and was now explaining their next activity.

"I want all of you to look at this picture and write an interpretation of what it means to you. It can be a poem, a story, an essay. I'm giving you the whole period, so make it a masterpiece." He stated simply, voice carrying across the classroom. Chase looked at the painting. A woman was facing a giant dog with black fur, glowing red eyes, and a huge mouth full of short teeth. The lady looked terrified.

Chase blinked before looking away from the picture and rubbing absently at her still-healing stomach. Of all pictures to choose from…

She pulled out a slip of paper, scrawling her name across the upper corner and beginning to write.

She hadn't expected the story to go the direction it did, but it ended up being a slightly altered version of what had happened in Nebraska. She ended the story right as the main character was cornered by the beast, trapped with no weapon, staring into the thing's red eyes.

The bell rang, and they all passed up their papers. Chase zipped up her plain grey backpack and swung it over her shoulder, moving quickly out of the classroom. That hadn't been as bad as she had originally thought.

The packed halls freaked her out majorly. People bumped against her, pushing and shoving, much too close for her liking. She could feel her heart speed up as her instincts screamed for her to make a run for it. She fought them down, though, and continued on to her next class.

PE.

"This is going to be loads of fun." She grumbled.

* * *

><p>Hey guys! Please review!<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

Aria had just finished first period. She had math, her least favorite subject. Back when she was still with her parents, her mom had home-schooled her all the way through 6th grade until… until that night_. No, _she thought_. Don't think about that. At least not here_. She had always hated math, even though she was actually pretty good at it. She walked through the bustling halls, studying her list of classes. A small grin found it's way across her face when she read '_Language Arts'. _This, she could actually handle.

She made her way to a classroom near the gym and cafeteria where other kids were taking their seats. Aria looked across the room and saw a young adult, the teacher, standing behind her desk. Aria walked over to her and the the woman smiled.

"You must be one of the Winchester girls. I'm Ms. Greenwell." She held out her hand.

"I'm Aria," Aria replied as they shook. Ms. Greenwell led Aria to an empty desk between a blonde girl with a short, hot-pink skirt with a matching blazer and a boy with black hair and an over-sized gray sweat shirt. "Pink Girl" looked Aria over and leaned over to her.

"I'm Bridget," She whispered against the murmurs of the rest of the class as Miss Greenwell organized her desk area. Bridget nodded toward the boy on Aria's left. "That's Cole. Nice to meet you," She held out her hand.

"Aria," She said as they shook, noting the girl's weak grip and lack of eye contact. She half-heartedly smiled at the blonde, who returned the favor. The two girls turned at the sound of their teacher clapping her hands, attempting to get the attention of the freshmen and sophomores scattered across the room.

"Today's first assignment will be an essay on what you did over the summer, and be honest," She said, handing a piles of paper to the people at the end of the rows.

"Lovely," Aria said under her breath. "Hunting werewolves isn't exactly 'honest' to these people is it?" She ended up being truthful, but instead of werewolves she wrote about deer. And she left out the killing part.

When the bell rang, about ten kids were already almost out the door, papers on Miss. Greenwell's desk. Aria got up and slowly walked out of the classroom, bringing up the tail of the line of students.

* * *

><p>The gym was giant, a stark contrast to the PE coach, who barely reached Chase's chin. He looked her over before handing her a pile of clothes, a lock combo, and a locker number, and then pointed to the girl's locker room.<p>

"Change in there." He looked at his watch. "You now have six minutes."

Chase nodded and walked into the locker room, quickly finding her locker and opening it. She sat on the bench and began to unlace her boots. Footsteps approached from behind, and the hunter turned to see Genevieve. The redhead waved and parked herself in front of the locker next to Chase's.

"Hey." She said, turning her lock.

"Hey." Chase replied before slowly pulling off her boots. She hissed at the pain, and Genevieve looked at her curiously.

"You okay?"

"Fine."

The redhead shrugged and went back to getting dressed. Chase shuffled off her jeans and pulled on the black sweats she had been given. She looked down at her shirt and frowned, anticipating pulling it over her head. Well, she had to take it off. Might as well get it over with. She tugged the garment over her head and gripped it tight in front of her, trying to control her breathing. Genevieve chose that moment to turn around, gasping when she saw the mess of bandages and old scarring on Chase's torso.

"What the hell?!" She asked, voice breathy. Chase scowled and yanked on the other shirt, pushing back a wince when her stitches protested at the fast movement.

"What was that? Are you okay? I'm gonna get the nurse." She got up and began to scramble away, but Chase grabbed her arm and pulled her close.

"I'm fine, but I swear to god if you tell a nurse about this and I get stuck in a hospital again I will smack you into next week." Chase growled quietly, and the other girl paused for a moment before nodding.

"Okay. Okay. No telling the nurse. I won't tell the nurse. The nurse will never know…"

"Genevieve. Chill. I'm fine. Just forget you saw anything."

"Yep. Forgetting." The girl turned and faced Chase as she said it. Her eyes were huge. "You're sure you're okay?"

"I've had worse." Chase replied, pulling on her tennis shoes and standing up. Genevieve didn't question, and instead followed Chase into the gym. The class was gathered in a large group at the front of the gym, facing the coach, who was busy writing on a clipboard. The two girls stood near the back of the group and waited as the coach finished what he was doing. He looked up and addressed the class.

"Now, you're all lazy, out of shape, and expecting a class that will accept that. Too bad. This class is designed to get you in shape, and god dammit, that's what it's gonna do." He began, his voice rising to a yell quickly.

"That's coach Duffy. He's got a lot of anger pent up. We have yet to figure out if it's because he's so small or because his last name is Duffy." Genevieve whispered, and Chase snorted quietly. The coach continued.

"You've never had to really run before, you've never done anything requiring training or fitness." He said, and Chase couldn't hold back another snort of laughter. Right. She had never done anything like that.

"You probably can't do five push-ups." Chase grinned. Five push-ups? She was doing sets of fifty pushups at age seven, and by age ten could do 100 in less than ten minutes.

"And you've probably never thought of running." No, she definitely didn't think about running when she had vamps on her ass, trying to catch and kill her. Running hadn't ever crossed her mind. She chuckled under her breath at how dark her own humor was. The coach heard her this time and fixed his small eyes on her face.

"You got something to say, sweetheart?" He asked her with a glare that could shrivel even the most disobedient students. It didn't even phase Chase. She had seen much worse.

"Yeah. Don't assume all of us are out of shape." She said, her voice even, and the other students stared at her in shock. "Oh, and one more thing. Don't call me sweetheart."

"What's your name?" Duffy's voice was low, threatening.

"Winchester. Chase Winchester." She replied, holding his gaze with her own. He blinked, not expecting the challenge in her eyes.

"Well, Winchester, let's see how many push-ups you can do in five minutes. If you get over fifty, you get out of detention." He growled. Chase grinned, mocking him.

"Sounds like a plan." She smiled, and the students formed a circle around her. Voices had begun rising. No one contradicted Duffy and got away with it. The students were captivated by the blonde hunter, and her stubborn challenge. Chase had the crowd's attention.

"You start in three… Two…" Duffy yelled, and Chase lowered herself to her knees. "One."

Chase began.

* * *

><p>She completed sixty-two push-ups in five minutes, much to dismay of Coach Duffy, who in that moment decided that he didn't like Chase. The other students were in awe, especially Genevieve, who knew about the hunter's injuries. The only one who was not impressed with the feat was Chase, who was angry at herself for not hitting seventy. She stood up and rubbed absently at her stitches, which were burning, and mentally cursed the stupid dog that had used her as a chew toy.<p>

"Everyone sit down. And stop staring at her. Getting out of detention doesn't make her special." Coach yelled angrily. Chase grinned at that, and responded in a voice that she knew almost everyone but the coach would hear.

"And being an ass-hole doesn't make you any taller."

The class erupted in laughter, and Chase parked herself in the back once again and Duffy resumed his yelling. She watched in amusement as he screamed a lecture at the class for the rest of the period. When they were dismissed, she hurried back to the locker room, determined to change before Genevieve got there. She wasn't successful. The redhead's voice broke the silence right as Chase was pulling off her shirt.

"What the hell." She started, anger evident in her tone. "First you walk in here with your stomach looking like someone took a knife to it, and then you do almost seventy push-ups in five minutes." She paused, staring Chase straight in the eyes. "Who are you? What are you?"

"Dramatic, aren't we?" Chase asked jokingly, and Genevieve reached out and put her hand on the hunter's shoulder, which was a bad idea.

Chase jolted back, hand going to the back of her jeans, where her gun usually was. Of course, it wasn't there. Genevieve stepped back.

"Alright, fine. No questions. No touching. No nurses. You are a strange one, Chase Winchester."

"You have no idea." Chase responded, standing and swing her backpack over her shoulder.


	12. Chapter 12

Turned out Chase and Genevieve, or Red, as Chase had taken to calling her, had the same schedule. Genevieve had insisted on taking Chase under her wing, babbling about how much her friends wanted to meet the "new girl". When the lunch bell rang, the girls walked into the cafeteria, where they got lunch. Genevieve led Chase over to a table in the corner where a small group of kids sat. Sunlight filtered from the windows and across the kids' faces. It was nice.

The group turned to look at Chase and Genevieve as they approached, many of them waving. Genevieve grinned and waved back.

"These are my friends. They'll love you." She told Chase quietly before addressing the group.

"Hey guys! This is Chase. She's gonna sit with us today, and maybe tomorrow if you don't scare her off."

"You're the new girl!" A short boy with spiky blond hair pointed out with a grin. "I'm Gibson. Call me Gibs."

"Quit flirting with her, asshole. You'll scare her away with your face." A girl with dark hair joked before standing and gesturing to the open bench next to her. "I'm Erica. Sit."

Chase hesitated before walking over to sit beside the girl, Genevieve in tow. She was wary. She hadn't expected it to be this easy. Friends were never this easy. She wasn't an easy person to like. Most people steered clear and labeled her as a freak. A dangerous freak.

She dropped her tray on the table and looked at the collection of kids sitting around her.

One girl was wearing a dress, and her hair was curled and sporting a bright pink flower.

Next to her sat a boy wearing a dirty sweatshirt, his dark hair disheveled and eyes darting.

Across from him was a brunette girl with a math book in front of her, who was in the process of scribbling down notes.

At her side sat Gibs, and next to him sat a brown-haired kid wearing a football jersey and rolling a baseball across the table to a girl with blue hair, who was sitting next to Erica.

"What is this, The Breakfast Club?" Chase asked, still studying the array of students. They all looked at her, most of them chuckling. Even math girl cracked a smile.

Genevieve began introducing everyone, and Chase learned that flower girl was Chloe, sweatshirt guy was Jamie, math girl was Rosline, football guy was Matt, and blue hair girl was Penny. They began to eat, most of the kids picking gingerly at the food. Chase dug in wholeheartedly. After a few minutes, everyone was staring at her.

"Does it not phase you that our school happens to have the most disgusting food in the country?" Erica asked, looking at the "Chicken" that they had been served.

"Hey, free food is free food. There have been times when I would have killed for a plate of this stuff." Chase responded through a mouthful. She realized a few seconds later that it had been the wrong thing to say. She was about to cover it up with humor when a loud yell came up from the other end of the cafeteria.

"Oh, you little _BITCH_!"

She recognized the voice immediately and leapt to her feet, already running for the growing mob of people where the voice had come from.

"Aria."

* * *

><p>Across from Aria stood Bridget, her mouth open in shock.<p>

"Can't you take a joke?" She spit. Aria chuckled sarcastically.

"Where I'm from, jokes like that aren't _existent_."

"Well, it looks like _I'm_ not the only bitch in the room, hmm?" The other girl started walking away, but Aria had had it.

"Oh yeah?" Bridget stopped dead in her tracks. The room fell silent. She turned on her heel and took two big steps toward Aria, cocking her eyebrow. Aria's face hardened as she pulled her good arm back, and…

Bridget shrieked and flew back as Aria's clenched fist collided with her nose. A snap echoed through the cafeteria. The room erupted in gasps and murmurs and Chase pushed through the crowd, making her way towards her sister.

"I think you broke my nose," Bridget screamed. "You ass!"

Aria smirked, clearly proud of what she'd done.

"That'll teach you to mess with a hunter," She muttered under her breath, right as Chase reached her.

"Why'd you punch her?" Chase asked quietly, looking Aria in the eyes.

"She cracked a joke about my mom." Aria replied simply.

"Well in that case, good job. Solid punch. Sounded like you broke her nose" Chase smiled sadly, right as a flustered teacher approached them and lay her hand on Aria's shoulder cautiously. Both of the hunters tensed and looked at her.

"I need you both to come with me." She said sharply before walking briskly out of the cafeteria. Chase looked back at Genevieve and her friends. Half of them were looking at her like she was crazy, the other half looked like they were in shock, and Erica was giving her two thumbs up.

The teacher led the girls to the principal's office, where they were seated. Then, with a dark glare at Aria, she left.

A tall, black man sat behind the desk in front of them, watching them with interest. He didn't speak. Chase looked at Aria blankly and then opened her mouth.

"I was the one who punched her." She said, her voice strong. "Aria had nothing to do with this. You should just let her go." The older girl looked at Aria again. Aria rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to let Chase take responsibility for her actions. She didn't regret breaking Bridget's nose.

"I did it. Not her." Aria said lightly. The principal nodded.

"You're Aria Winchester, yes?"

"Yep, that's me. Don't think we've met, though you _are_ the principal."

"Yes, I'm the Principal. Mr. Perry." He answered. He was still studying the girls in front of him. "And you're a freshman, who, on their first day of school, broke someone's nose." He paused and cocked his head a bit. "Now, I'm curious. What provoked you to punch Bridget Wright in the face?" He finished. Aria's face darkened.

"She made a joke about my mom." The young hunter paused. "My mom died, and that stupid bitch was joking about it." The man the desk blinked.

"I'm sorry. About your mom." He said, and Aria frowned at the desk. Perry stared at the girls for a few more seconds before making up his mind. These weren't bad kids.

"I'll give you one more chance, only because you're new here and you haven't gone to a public school before. This is the only time I let you off the hook. Now, get out of here. I'll have to make some phone calls to clear this up." He said quickly. They both looked at him, expressions filled with surprise.

"I can tell you aren't bad kids. Just watch it from here on out." He said, before turning to Chase. "And you. Chase, right?" Chase nodded slowly, and the principal continued. "I would like to compliment you on your work in Physical Education." He finished, and winked at her before standing and striding out of the office.

"Well, it looks like we might actually still have a bit of good luck left." Chase said as she stood up, and Aria laughed quietly before pushing herself out of the chair and leaving the office.

"Yea, and maybe pigs fly."

"Wait, hold up. Remember that one time in Minnesota when the farmer called and…"

"Chase. Stop."

* * *

><p>When the final bell rang, it was music to Chase's ears. She swung her backpack over her shoulder and strode out of the classroom, ignoring the lingering glances she received in the halls. Word of her incident with Duffy had spread quickly, as had word of Aria's incident with Bridget Wright. When Chase made it out of the school's front door, her now famous little sister was waiting for her.<p>

"Praise the lord. We've been lifted from hell." Chase sang loudly, laughing when her sister turned red and smacked her.

"Shhhh! There are people here." The younger girl said angrily.

"Since when do you care what people think, Miss Nose Breaker?" Chase laughed, striding down the cement path towards the parking lot. Aria ran a few steps to catch up.

"Oh, like you've never broken someone's nose." The brunette growled. Chase turned to face Aria and stopped walking. Her face was deadly serious, chin ducked, brows drawn slightly together. She put her hand on Aria's shoulder.

"Oh, no, I've never broken anyone's nose. Breaking noses is bad. So are guns and knives and alcohol and…" She drew a deep breath and whispered. "Disobeying the law…"

Aria erupted with laughter, and Chase grinned before spinning back around and taking off for her car once more.

Chase ran her hand tenderly along the hood of the Charger, admiring the gentle shine of the paint.

"Look at that, Aria. Look how beautiful my car is." She said with a sigh. Aria stared at her.

"You are in an exceptionally good mood."

"So?"

"It's weird."

"Why's that?"

"Because you just spent six hours with people." Aria finished. Chase grinned.

"Yea, and now we get to leave." She responded gleefully. "And get burgers. You can even get a milkshake, since you managed to only punch one person." Aria scowled and socked her sister in the arm.

"Oh, sorry, make that two people."

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys! Please review! I love getting feedback and tips from you!<strong>

**Also, my story isn't dying out. I know where I want to take it, I'm just taking a while to get there. (It will be great when it does happen though!) **

**There will be some sisterly fluff and fatherly Dean in the next chapter :)**


	13. Chapter 13

"Two burgers and one large chocolate milkshake, please." Chase was half leaning out of her car window, wisps of blonde hair framing her face as she ordered. The smell of burgers drifted through the car, making Aria's mouth water. Chase sat back in her seat and sighed contentedly.

"Let's park over there and eat." She said, gesturing to the shade-covered corner of the parking lot. Aria nodded. They waited a few more minutes and then were handed their food. Chase swung them into the parking space and opened her door, the summer air rushing into the car.

Aria began unpacking the food.

"Screw this. Lets sit on the hood." Chase said, cranking up the radio and pulling herself out of the car. Aria followed and the two girls situated themselves on the Charger's shining hood. Chase grabbed the milkshake and took a big gulp of it, the cool chocolate drink instantly making her grin.

"Damn, that's good." She passing the cup to Aria and taking a bite of her burger.

"And so is that." She said before relaxing back onto the glinting red paint and looking. Dappled sunlight sifted through the leaves, shifting every few seconds as the breeze rocked the branches. Chase inhaled deeply, the heat-heavy air filling her lungs.

"This is nice, Aria." She sighed, and Aria nodded.

"Yea. It is."

"Look at the sun shining. And there's no blood splatters or dead bodies."

"I know."

"And… You know… Actually being able to sit and eat a burger without having to drive off and save people." Chase finished, half-heartedly lifting her burger.

"Yea."

"I don't like it much."

"Neither do I."

* * *

><p>"You <em>WHAT?" <em>Sam asked, eyebrows raising. Chase sat up straighter, opening her mouth to come to Aria's defence. Aria shot her a glance and the older girl backed off.

"I broke someone's nose." Aria continued, voice remaining neutral. Dean strolled in, beer in hand, and grinned at her.

"Sammy, you owe me five bucks."

"Damn." Sam cursed and looked at Chase.

"I'm assuming you didn't punch anyone." He asked, his tone revealing slight hope. Chase just laughed.

"Sorry, not winning you any bets. I did manage to royally piss off the PE teacher though." She chuckled, and the other three hunters grinned in response. Chase pushed herself up from the couch and strode off to her room. As soon as she closed the door, the smile disappeared from her face.

It was all going too fast. She was still struggling with accepting Dean as her dad, and now she had school and friends and a social life to worry about. Not to mention Aria. And at school, she couldn't have safely behind her all the time.

Honestly, it scared the crap out of her. More than monsters, more than killing things. More than those damn spiders Aria loved putting in her drinking glasses.

Chase was absolutely terrified that she wouldn't be able to protect her sister.

She swallowed and walked silently to her bed, where she sat, resting her head in her hands. She slouched and let her shoulders sink before a choked sob escaped her.

'No. Pull it together.' She chided herself. The command didn't work very well and her shoulders shuddered a bit as she cried.

There was a soft knock at the door, and Chase's head snapped up, hands furiously wiping at her face.

"Chase… It's Dean. Can I come in?" Dean's muffled voice carried through the wood.

"Yea." She said quickly, still wiping the wetness from her face. The door swung open slowly and Dean walked in and sat beside his daughter.

"How are you holding up?" He asked quietly.

"Fine." Chase answered, trying a lie. Dean caught it and looked her in the eyes, shining green eyes boring into steel blue ones.

"You aren't gonna be able to lie to me." He said, still holding her with his gaze. Chase blinked and looked down at her feet.

"Isn't this what normal dads do? Talk with their kids?" He asked with a sad chuckle.

"No idea. I didn't ever have a normal dad."

"Neither did I."

Both hunters were silent for a moment before Chase opened her mouth.

"I don't know if I can do this school thing. I don't remember how to live a life that is anything close to normal. I'm worried for Aria. I can't protect her at school. I can't pretend like we're anything like the other kids. We've bled, we've burned and stolen and threatened and we've killed…" The blonde hunter's voice broke and she choked back another sob, internally cursing herself for being weak and spilling her guts. Dean took a moment to respond.

"Shit. I'm no good at this." He paused and shifted on the bed. "Alright. So, if this was me, I would do my best to put my faith in Aria. She's more capable than you think. I know it's tough. Trust me, I grew up with protecting Sammy as my number one priority. But you've got to remember that you can't stand in front of them forever." He stopped again. "And as for the killing part of things, you've got to think about how many people you've saved. How many people go back to their families at night because you were there. That's what gets me through the day. You can't just look at the bad. It'll wreck you. You're better than you think. Stronger than you think. You can get through this, Chase. As soon as you're healed, you can leave school, and then it's back on the road again." He finished, drawing a deep breath and looking at Chase. Her mouth lifted in a half smile, and his face mirrored her. He reached over and pulled her into a hug. She inhaled the warm scent of him, like whiskey and honey and leather and exhaust from a healthy engine. Dad. This was her dad. She hugged him tighter.

"God. You're making me all soft and mushy." Dean groaned, and Chase laughed.

Maybe she could do this.

* * *

><p>Hey guys! So... Mushy chapter, I know. Hope you enjoyed it...<p>

Please review! It helps me write and I also just love hearing from you.

Thanks

-Emma

P.S. Y'all should listen to _Wasted Years_ by Iron Maiden. Great song (and artist).


	14. Chapter 14

"So, let me hear the whole story." Sam broke the wave of silence that had washed over the room when Dean had left to check on Chase.

"She was a prissy little bitch who needed to be taught a lesson," Aria calmly replied.

"What, exactly, did she do?"

"Made a joke about my past, which I have no desire to talk about at the moment." Sam nodded.

"Aria, I'm your uncle. I know we aren't blood relatives, but if I learned anything from my Uncle Bobby, it's that family isn't only blood. Even more important, family doesn't end in blood. You can tell me anything." Aria smiled, but Sam could see straight through the facade. She sighed and looked him.

"She asked about my family. Told her I was living with my sister and dad. She cracked a joke about my mom, something about her dying, but I was too shocked to hear it. Next thing I know, she's on the floor and calling me an ass."

"I did something like that once," He replied.

"Really? You just seem like a big puppy." Aria's mouth twitched up, a genuine smile this time. Sam smiled back a bit.

"Yea… Not as puppy-like as you may think. I've seen things… Done things…" He trailed off.

"Sam, it's alright. The past is the past. You can't change it. You've just got to move forward and put that stuff behind you." Aria said quietly. Sam nodded before looking at the girl.

"You're pretty smart." He smiled sadly at her.

"Nah, I've just learned how to deal with stuff." She said before trailing off. "Unlike my sister… She can never let go of things. She just shoves them down deep and tries to forget…"

"Yea. Her dad is the same way." Sam told her.

"It weighs on her. I wish she would just stop blaming herself for everything that goes wrong." Aria sighed.

"Hey, if I can get either one of them to do that, I'll make sure to let you know." Sam said with a sad chuckle. Aria smiled slowly.

"Well, I'm gonna go do my homework." She said, pushing herself up from the couch.

"Alright. Call me if you need help with anything." Sam offered.

"I will." The young hunter began walking out of the room. Then she stopped and looked back at the man sitting on the couch. "And Sam…" She paused. "Thanks."

"Any time, Aria." He responded, nodding at her before grabbing his laptop and sinking back into the couch. Aria drifted off to her room and started her homework.

* * *

><p>Chase turned off her blaring alarm and dragged herself to her bathroom, slowly removing her bandages before turning on the shower and allowing the rush of warm water to flow over her skin. Of all the things in the bunker, the showers had to be one of her favorites.<p>

Warm water was abundant, and the water pressure wasn't pathetic.

It was awesome.

She dipped her head under the stream, allowing the warmth to wash away her thoughts. It worked, for about a minute. Then she remembered.

School.

Day two.

In forty minutes.

Great.

Chase sighed and slumped out of the shower, quickly towel drying her hair and examining her stitches before wrapping bandages around them once more. She glanced in the mirror.

'_Right. I should probably get dressed.' _She thought.

Shirt. She needed a shirt.

And some socks. Socks were good. So were pants.

"Ugh. But I really don't like pants." Chase complained quietly to herself before dragging on a pair of jeans. She grabbed a random black tee-shirt and threw it on before yanking on her boots, hissing through her teeth when her stitches pulled.

She stood up slowly and looked in the mirror again. At least she wasn't naked anymore. She sighed and retrieved her backpack from the corner, slinging it over her shoulder and leaving her room.

Aria was in the kitchen making pancakes. She scowled when she saw Chase approaching the griddle.

"Hey, you stay away from those. I don't want your 'cooking skills' to burn them to crisps." She ordered. Chase grinned.

"Sure sis." She laughed, making her way to the coffee machine and pouring herself a bit, taking a hearty gulp.

"Mmm. Coffee." She sighed. Aria laughed.

"You need a minute alone?" She joked. Chase grinned.

"I don't know, you need some time with those pancakes?" She fired back, and grabbed the pancake Aria had thrown out of the air as it sailed past her head, taking a big bite.

"Mmm. Fresh off the griddle." She laughed.

* * *

><p>Chase blasted Nirvana the whole way to school, turning it up extremely loud and singing along. The music put her in a better mood. She swung the Charger into a parking space and turned off the engine, looking over at Aria before pulling herself out of the car. She closed her door and was about to start walking when she heard footsteps approaching from behind her. She turned to find Gibbs and Matt eyeing her car.<p>

"Dude, sweet ride." Matt said, admiring it passionately.

"Thanks." Chase replied, and allowed a bit of pride to seep into her voice.

"We'll talk cars at lunch." The tall boy told her, nodding.

"Sounds good." Chase replied before watching the boys walk away. She turned to find Aria on the verge of going into hysterics.

"Look who took on the position of social butterfly!" She exclaimed sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up. It's not my fault I'm awesome." Chase laughed, and both girls headed off to class.

English went well. Well, as well as it could go. Chase was still bored.

When the bell rang, Genevieve was immediately by Chase's side, asking away about Aria and the fight.

"Dude! She nailed that freshman bitch in the face! I heard she broke her nose." She babbled, and Chase grinned shortly.

"Her nose was definitely broken. Trust me, Red, you do not want to get hit in the face by my little sister." Chase replied, swinging her backpack over her shoulder and walking out of the classroom. Genevieve followed.

"You guys are really weird." Genevieve's red curls bobbed as she walked. "Are you guys ex-military?"

"Nope."

"Spies?"

"Nope."

"Superheroes?"

"Nope."

"Genetically engineered…" Genevieve started, and Chase rolled her eyes.

"No." The blonde hunter picked up her pace, striding into the gym and ignoring the glare that Coach Duffy gave her.

"Alright. Fine. I'll stop." Genevieve said with a laugh, before becoming abruptly quiet.

"Chase… Is that blood on your jeans?" She asked, horrified. Chase grinned teasingly.

"Possibly." She laughed, and kept walking.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys. Hope you enjoyed chapter fourteen... Sorry its so slow moving. I know where I want to take things, but I'm struggling with getting to the starting line. Bear with me... <strong>

**Reviews help more than you could imagine! I love getting feedback, tips, and suggestions from people. **

**Thanks a bunch, my darlings.**

**-Emma**


	15. Chapter 15

It was lunch, and Aria did not want a repeat of yesterday. She walked quickly to where Chase had told her to go. The table in the corner of the cafeteria. Next to one of the exits. When Aria got there, she frowned.

There was a crowd of people surrounding the table, cheering and laughing. Aria pushed through the crowd and was not at all surprised to find her sister in the middle of the mob. Arm wrestling.

Aria mentally face-palmed, wondering which kid had decided to challenge Chase, who was currently slowly forcing down the arm of a huge kid in a football letterman. She had an easy grin on her face, and her eyes sparked, as if daring all the other kids to step up and try to beat her. She slammed the other kid's hand onto the table, and the crowd cheered collectively.

"Anyone else?" She asked. Another kid in a letterman stepped forward.

"Ten bucks to the winner!" One kid yelled out from the back, and a bill was passed forward to the table. Chase's grin widened.

"Oh, you're on." She smirked, joining hands with the other kid. They started pushing, Chase gradually overpowering him until his hand touched the table. Aria noticed her older sister rub at her stomach, and decided to step in.

"Chase, lets go get some food." She said, and Chase looked up and nodded. She swept the 10 dollar bill of the table and stood up.

"Same time next week, guys." She laughed before joining Aria. A girl with dark hair got up with her sister, and grinned at Aria.

"So you're the one who broke that freshman bitch's nose." She said, looking Aria up and down. The younger girl straightened.

"Yea." She said cautiously, watching Chase. The blond hunter seemed alright with the other girl.

"Good job. The twit deserved it. I'm Erica, by the way." Erica continued, and Aria nodded. She could see why her sister liked this one.

"Aria. Nice to meet you." Aria smiled slowly, extending her hand. They shook and filed forward in the lunch line. Aria addressed her sister quietly.

"Chase. Arm wrestling? Really?"

"It was just a few guys."

"You need to let yourself heal."

"So do you, Miss Punchy."

"You're so immature."

"I know. Isn't it great?"

* * *

><p>They sat back down at the table, Aria and Chase at the end closest to the exit, and the rest of the group scattered around them. Chase scanned over their faces quickly, nodding a greeting.<p>

"Sup', Chase." Gibbs said with a wave.

"Hey." The blonde hunter grinned. "So, cars. What are your favorites?" Matt jumped in, the two boys listing their dream cars. Matt liked old Mustangs, preferably 65's. His dad had one that they were restoring. Gibbs was a fan of Dodges and Chevelles. They discussed pros and cons and popularity and how most new models were destroying the image and beauty of the car.

"Dude, have you seen the new Chargers? They're so lame looking. They've lost all of the design in the old ones."

"How about the Mustangs? With the hoods that look like bubbles." Matt stated, shaking his head.

"Ruined." Chase agreed.

"God, you're such a nerd." Aria grumbled from Chase's side.

* * *

><p>Sorry guys, I needed a car rant.<p>

I know it's short... I've been super busy lately with school and concerts and other stuff.

Hope you're still enjoying the story! Please review! Feedback helps a bunch!


	16. Chapter 16

Chase was sitting in her car, the door wide open. Her head was tilted back and her eyes were slipped shut, waiting for Aria to arrive so they could leave. She shifted and slid her fingers over the handle of the knife resting next to her on the seat.

"Nice car you've got there." A boy's voice startled her and her eyes flew open, hand closing around the knife and wielding it automatically. The guy who had spoken to her stepped back a bit, but didn't comment on the knife.

"Well aren't you a loaded pistol." He said smugly, and Chase glared at him.

"No, but I've got one in the back, so watch it." She growled, and was met with a grin as the boy extended his hand. She lowered the knife onto the seat slowly and took his hand.

"Austin Stone." He said as they shook, his brown eyes studying Chase's.

"Chase." She finished, still looking at the boy.

He was tall, with at least five inches on Chase, tan and well built. His dark blond hair was cut short and spiked in the front. He had an angular face with gleaming brown eyes and freckles scattered across his cheeks. His lips twitched into an easy smile and he gestured to the Charger.

"Awesome car." He said, and Chase half smiled at him.

"Thanks. You know your way around an engine?"

"Yea, you could say that. My dad owns the auto-shop a few blocks from here."

"Oh, that's cool."

"Yea it's nice. Maybe you could stop by some time. We've got some cool stuff lying around, and my dad is looking for employees." Austin finished, rolling his shoulders under his Ozzy tour shirt. Chase nodded slowly.

"Yea, maybe I will. Thanks." She said, and Austin grinned.

"See you around, Chase." He said, and began strolling across the parking lot. She watched him walking away.

_He's kinda cute..._

She blinked.

_Oh, hell no. Not happening. So not happening. _

She was _definitely_ not getting fuzzy-brained for some guy named Austin who wore cool shirts and worked on cars.

Nuh-uh.

Aria's footsteps dragged her out of her thoughts and she turned to face her sister. The younger girl was holding a stack of books and a binder.

"Ready?" Aria started before glancing at Chace. Then her brows knit together with worry. "Are you alright?"

Chase shook herself, clearing her expression and replacing it with the easy smile she covered everything with.

"Fine, little sister. Let's get home."

* * *

><p>That night night, Dean cooked burgers for dinner. All four hunters sat down at the table and ate a full meal, like a normal family.<p>

"So how's school going?" Sam asked casually before taking another bite. The girls looked at eachother.

"Fine." Chase said quickly through a mouth of burger.

"Yea." Aria agreed.

"I think I'm gonna try to get a job at the auto shop here in town." Chase blurted. She blinked, realizing that she had spoken out loud. Sam and Dean looked at her curiously.

"Really? That's cool." Sam said with an easy smile.

"What brought all this on?" Dean asked with a half-hearted wave of his hand.

"I met a kid in the school parking lot today. We started talking about cars and he was telling me about his dad's shop... His name is Austin." Chase finished, taking another bite of food.

Aria grinned and piped in, taking the opportunity to tease the older girl.

"Ooh, Austin… Chase has got a crush…" The dark haired hunter teased, bringing on a glare from Chase. Dean looked like he was going to grab a shotgun or fall over from shock. Or maybe both. His voice held barely disguised suspicion.

"Is he a good kid? Common sense? How old is he?" Dean started, questions spilling from his mouth.

"God, man. You're starting to sound like a father." Sam snorted, quickly joined by Aria. Chase grinned at Dean and shook her head.

"Sweet mother of… It's not like we're together, Dean. We just met today. And yea. He seems like a good kid. Smart, too." She stood up, taking her plate with her to the sink and loading it into the dishwasher.

"Thanks for the burgers, Dean. They rocked. I'm gonna go to bed."

"Night, Chase." Sam and Aria chorused, and Dean nodded slowly.

"Alright, then. We'll talk about this Austin kid tomorrow." Chase chuckled and shook her head as she walked out of the room.

"And no texting him until I meet him." Dean finished, and Chase's laughter echoed through the halls.

* * *

><p>Chase slipped into her room and shut the door behind her, the smile slipping from her face. She didn't want- didn't need a guy to top off her list of things to think about. She didn't need the distraction. She needed to concentrate on healing so she could get back into things, so she could get back to being Chase Winchester- hunter, sister, protector.<p>

_Then again, the list is longer now, isn't it. _Chase told herself. _Now daughter and highschooler have been added. _She shook her head. Things had become so complicated in the past few weeks. She needed something to distract her, something to pull her away for a while. She glanced over at her keys where they rested on her dresser.

_Guess who's gonna play some poker later… _

* * *

><p><strong>Hey everyone... Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review! I love answering questions and getting suggestions and feedback.<br>**

**Thanks, my darlings...**

**-Emma**


	17. Chapter 17

Chase snuck out of the bunker as soon as she heard Dean close the door to his room, which was around 12:15, and headed directly for her car, the autumn air cool on her cheeks and neck. Rain was drizzling lightly from the black sky, and Chase's hair hung in damp waves around her head as she swung into the driver's seat and started the engine. The headlights illuminated the raindrops, which fell through the air like tiny crystal beads, shining and captivating. Chase backed out of the driveway and took off.

She decided to stay in Lebanon. She didn't have as much time as she had before, and couldn't risk getting back after everyone was awake, so she found the smallest, steeziest bar in the tiny town. Which was only slightly smaller and skeezier than the only other bar in town.

_The Golden Foot. Okay…_ Chase looked up at the flickering sign above the door and shook her head. _Nice name._

She was greeted by loud chatter and the smell of smoke and alcohol. She breathed in the familiar scent. This, she could do. Without a doubt. She ducked her head and walked to the bar, flashing her fake ID and not looking up.

"Shot of whiskey, please."

"Sure thi… Chase?" The voice was slightly surprised, and Chase looked up and into the face of Austin Stone.

"Why are you here?" He asked slowly.

"I wanted a drink and a game of poker." Chase replied, stone faced.

"How old are you, again?" He asked sarcastically, looking Chase in the eyes. Chase held her ID in front of her face before showing it again to Austin.

"Twenty-one, apparently."

"Mmmhmm." Austin laughed before looking around. He lowered his voice. "Look, technically it's illegal for me to work here, but I know the owner pretty well. I know he wouldn't mind if you had a few drinks. Just, don't cause trouble. He'll have my ass on a plate if the cops show up."

"Sounds good, sweetheart." She swallowed the whiskey Austin set in front of her and made her way over to the poker table.

* * *

><p>Aria woke up to silence. It wasn't normal silence. It was empty silence, like something was missing. Something vital, something important…<p>

She silently slipped out of bed and pulled on the nearest flannel to protect against the chilled air. She grabbed a book off of her shelf and returned to her bed, the lamp shedding warm light on everything. It made the room seem slightly less uninviting. She settled into her book and waited for the empty silence to go away.

* * *

><p>Chase was about to start her fourth poker game, and had raked in fifty bucks or so. Austin had finished his shift and decided to watch Chase's last game. He studied her strategy, watched her face, stared at her hands. She played her smartest, blowing everyone out of the water.<p>

Austin grinned at her as she laid down her last hand, winning the hand and collecting her money. Fifty more bucks. Not bad for such a small place. She nodded at the other players and stood up, pulling on her jacket and making her way towards the exit. Austin walked with her.

The pair stopped as they exited the bar.

"God, that was some of the best playing I've seen… You might even be able to beat me…" Austin joked, and Chase chuckled.

"In your dreams, princess." Chase responded.

_God, he looks good in that Ozzy shirt…_

"I don't know… We'll have to test your skills sometime." Austin stepped closer towards her.

_He has nice eyes. _

"Yea… We will…"

_And lips…_ The door slammed open and a drunk guy staggered outside. Chase jerked back, hand going to the handle of her knife at her belt. The guy walked past them, balance shot, and ignored them completely.

"You're different." Austin observed.

"No shit, Sherlock." Chase mumbled under her breath as she started towards her car. Austin didn't follow, but called out to her.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Chase. Maybe you can teach me how to play some real poker."

Austin didn't see Chase's smile, but it lit up her whole face.

* * *

><p>Aria heard the rumble of her sister's car around three in the morning and frowned. Chase should know better than to leave in the middle of the night without telling anyone. It had been one of many of Chase's bad habits when Aria had first started travelling with her.<p>

She used to wake up in the middle of the night to find the older girl's bed empty. This would result in panic, which would result in Aria running outside and almost tripping over Chase where she was sitting by the door, gun in hand.

Aria would ask what was wrong and Chase would say that she couldn't sleep before allowing herself to be dragged back to bed by the scrawny thirteen year-old.

The next night the whole thing would repeat.

Aria's presence gradually helped Chase out of the habit, but Aria knew that sometimes the older girl just needed to get away from everything. Needed to be alone.

She heard footsteps pass her door and continue down the hall. She got up and followed, making her way silently towards Chase's room.

The door was closed, but Aria pushed it open. She was greeted by the barrel of a gun. Once Chase realized that the intruder was only her little sister, she quickly lowered the weapon and backed away.

"Damn, honey. You can't just barge in here like that."

"Where did you go?" Aria asked quietly. Chase hesitated.

"Some tiny bar in town. Drank a bit of whiskey, played a few rounds of poker." The blonde girl looked down. "I'm sorr-"

"It's alright, Chase. I get it." Aria interrupted. Chase nodded.

"C'mere, little sister." Chase gestured to the bed, and both girls sat. Chase began brushing Aria's dark hair. Aria slowly relaxed, eyes growing heavy as the familiar feeling of her sister braiding her hair comforted her. Soon she was asleep, slumped back against Chase, who picked her up and carried her to her room, laying her down and tucking her in.

"Night, Aria." She whispered into the now dark room. The only response was Aria's steady breathing.

* * *

><p><strong>Please review! You guys rock!<strong>

**-Emma**


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